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Chris Sabin

Joshua Harter(born February 4 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He also makes appearances for the Japan based Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX promotion, where he held the ZERO-1 MAX International Lightweight Tag Team Championship with Alex Shelley, whom he currently teams with in TNA as the Motor City Machine Guns.

Career

Harter began training as a wrestler in Michigan at the NWA Great Lakes Pro Wrestling School. After the school began experiencing difficulties, he travelled to Windsor, Ontario and completed his training under Scott D'Amore and "Amazing" N8 Mattson at the Can-Am Wrestling School. He debuted in 2000 after four months training as Chris Sabin, and began working for D'Amore's Border City Wrestling promotion and for independent promotions in Michigan.

Pro Wrestling ZERO-1 MAX

On August 25, 2006 at Korauken Hall's ZERO-1 MAX show, Sabin and Alex Shelley became ZERO-1 MAX International Lightweight Tag Team Champions, when they defeated former champions, Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita. Since then, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has been booking them as a tag team, Sabin and Shelley challenging for the PWG World Tag Team Titles in their third match in the company as a unit. They eventually lost the chance to win those belts.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003-Current)

Sabin joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 as a heel and won the TNA X Division Championship. His reign ended after three months when he lost to Michael Shane in the first ever Ultimate X match on August 20.

On September 3 of that year, Sabin, now a face, won the 2003 Super X Cup, thus becoming the number one contender to the X Division Championship. He regained the X Division Championship on January 7, 2004, defeating Shane, Christopher Daniels and Low Ki in the second Ultimate X match. He was stripped of the title on March 26, 2004 after a knee injury left him unable to defend it.

After returning from injury, Sabin took part in the World X Cup in May 2004, forming Team USA with Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper. On May 26, Team USA defeated Team Mexico, Team Canada and Team Japan in a two hour pay-per-view event which saw the teams fight one another in a variety of matches. The finals saw Sabin wrestle the Canadian Petey Williams and the Mexican Héctor Garza in an Ultimate X match, which Sabin won when he retrieved a large red "X" which had been suspended above the ring on steel cables.

For the remainder of 2004, Sabin contended for the X Division Championship. He won another Ultimate X on November 9 to win a title shot at Petey Williams. During the leadup, they ran an angle where Sabin was able to reverse Williams' Canadian Destroyer into his own Cradle Shock finishing move. At Turning Point 2004 on December 5, however, Williams was able to secure a victory with the help of a pair of brass knuckles. Sabin got another shot at the title at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005, in an Ultimate X match with Williams and A.J. Styles. Styles won the match and the title when he snatched the title from Williams' and Sabin's collective grip while they were still on the X ropes.

Throughout 2005, Sabin feuded with Michael Shane, by now wrestling as Matt Bentley. In September 2005 he began a feud with Shocker that was killed when Shocker was unable to return from Mexico for their scheduled match at Unbreakable on September 11.

In 2006, Sabin mostly teamed up with Sonjay Dutt, to great effect, beating Team Canada in a #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament on TNA Impact!. However at the Against All Odds PPV event Sabin and Dutt were beaten by Chris Harris and James Storm (America's Most Wanted) in a bout for the NWA World Tag Team Championships. On March 11, Chris Sabin defeated Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt in a 3-way match to represent both the USA in the "International X Division Showcase" at Destination X 2006 as well as joining Jay Lethal on Team TNA in the upcoming World X Cup Tournament. Later that month, Sabin was hospitalized with a severe concussion after taking four blows to the head during a show for the Northeast Wrestling (NEW) promotion on March 25 in Bristol, Connecticut. He was released after undergoing a CAT scan. Sabin acted as the captain of Team USA at World X Cup 2006, defeating Puma of Team Mexico, earning 3 points, and on May 18, defeating Petey Williams in a sudden death tiebreaker singles match, winning the World X Cup for Team USA.

On the June 1, 2006 edition of TNA Impact!, Sabin rushed to the ring to clear out Alex Shelley and Kevin Nash, who were attacking Jay Lethal in another of Nash's X Division beatdowns. Nash would avoid a physical confrontation with Sabin, only to be challenged to a match by Sabin at Slammiversary 2006 which Nash was able to win.

Sabin later became the #1 Contender for the TNA X Division Championship by defeating Alex Shelley at TNA Hard Justice 2006. Sabin would enter into an angle with fellow X-Division wrestlers to promote the Jackass: Number Two movie by imitating stunts performed on the film to display the lighter side of the X-Division, something current champion Senshi dissaproved of. Since then, Sabin would attempt to take Senshi's title on several occasions. On October 22 2006, Sabin defeated Senshi after using an inside cradle to become a 3 Time X-Division Champion at Bound for Glory 2006. On the November 2, 2006 edition of TNA Impact!, he lost the title to A.J. Styles in the Fight for the Right tournament.

Prior to the match, Sabin showed signs of turning heel when he expressed his disdain for X-Division pioneer, and babyface, Jerry Lynn for doubting his focus in an interview with Christy Hemme. Sabin completed his heel turn two weeks later when he refused to help fellow X-Division star Sonjay Dutt from an assault from Samoa Joe. Chris Sabin went on to challenge Christoher Daniels at Genesis for the X-division championship but failed. After winning a triple-threat match against former allies Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal for a #1 contender's match, he once again challenged Daniels at Turning Point but lost after a BME.

At Final Resolution 2007, Sabin won the X Division Championship from then champion Christopher Daniels in a triple threat match which also involved Jerry Lynn. Sabin went on to feud with Lynn over the title; defeating him at Against All Odds 2007 by using the ring ropes for leverage.

At TNA Destination X, Sabin defeated Jerry Lynn is a two out of three falls match to retain the X - Division Championship. After the match though, a masked man (who was later found to be Christopher Daniels) performed The Angel's Wings on Sabin and hit Lynn on the head with the title belt.

On April 12's episode of TNA Impact! it was announced that Chris Sabin was to face Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Shark Boy at TNA's April PPV Lockdown 2007 in St. Louis. At Lockdown Chris Sabin retained his title against Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Shark Boy in a Six Sides of Steel Xscape match.

At Sacrifice he retained his title against Sonjay Dutt, and Jay Lethal, by pinning Sonjay Dutt.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley have formed a TNA occasional tag team known as the Motor City Machine Guns (known as the Murder City Machine Guns in ROH). They jobbed to VKM in under two minutes on a fall edition of Impact.

Chris lost his title to Jay Lethal at Slammiversary when Lethal hit a Diving Elbow Drop. Sabin would get a rematch on Impact against Lethal and the other competitor, Samoa Joe. Joe won the match and the title.

Sabin has recently begun wrestling as a tag team in TNA with Alex Shelley. The two had been teaming in several independent promotions under the names Murder City Machine Guns and Motor City Machine Guns by the fact that both Sabin & Shelley hail from Detroit, Michigan. Sabin and Shelley have recently started a feud with Team 3D, turning face. It stemmed from Team 3D constantly attacking the X division every week. They defeated 3D at Genesis 2007. The feud died down and have not been in action against Team 3D since winning in a street fight at a TNA PPV. He competed in TNA's World X Cup as a part of Team USA/TNA.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley turned heel after not showing any repect after the match with BG James and Eric Young then Sabin spat in his own hand and slapped BG James in the face then they brawled which then the crowd chanted "Sabin Sucks".

Personal life

His ring name is derived from the character Sabin Rene Figaro from the video game Final Fantasy VI (originally released in America as Final Fantasy III). Sabin made an appearance with Alex Shelley on MTV's Made training & changing a gay choir boy into a professional wrestler in 6 weeks.

Harter is also real life best friends with Alex Shelley.

In wrestling

Finishing and signature moves

*Cradle Shock (Cross-legged Samoan driver)

*Double chickenwing piledriver – Independent circuit

*Future Shock (Leg hook brainbuster)

*Over Easy DDT (Overhead gutwrench backbreaker hold flipped into an implant DDT)

*Bum Rush (Swinging side slam backbreaker)

*Diving Dynamite Leg Drop (Diving leg drop)

*Enzuigiri

*Hesitation Dropkick (Stalling low–angle dropkick to an opponent held in the tree of woe position)

*Hurricanrana

*Leap of Faith (No–handed springboard suicide dive)

*Multiple suplex variations

**Dragon

**German

**Northern lights

**Tiger

*Sabin Edge (Iconoclasm)

*Sabinizer (Side slam backbreaker)

*Running crucifix powerbomb, usually into the middle turnbuckle

*Springboard tornado DDT

*Suicide dive

*Tilt–a–whirl headscissors takedown

With Alex Shelley

ASCS Rush (Spinning sole kick by Sabin followed by a superkick from Shelley and then finished with a simultaneous jumping enzuigiri by Sabin / superkick by Shelley combo)
Double superkick to a seated or kneeling opponent