Impact World Champion Steve Maclin Talks Under Siege, Biggest Lessons, and Celebrates First Wrestling Action Figure

By Matthew Aguilar

Impact World Champion Steve Maclin already has a successful Title defense under his belt, and now he will look to secure a second defense against PCO at tonight's Under Siege pay-per-view. Maclin defeated Kushida to win the Impact World Championship at Rebellion, and he isn't planning on ending his reign anytime soon, even with the obstacles the head of the company has thrown his way since his reign began. ComicBook.com's Matt Aguilar recently had the chance to speak with Maclin about Under Siege, what he's taken away most from his first two years in Impact Wrestling, and reaping the rewards of being Champion, including getting his very first figure!

Rebellion was a big night for Maclin, who added another impressive win to his resume on his way to becoming Impact World Champion. That same night Maclin's wife Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jordan Grace to become the new Knockouts World Champion, making the celebration and night overall even more special.

steve-maclin-pco.jpg
(Photo: Impact Wrestling)

"Appreciate the moment. Love the moment. It was a cool night to have and to share with my wife as well, winning the title. We never expected that together on the same night. We expected to be World Champions at some point together, but never on the same night, especially to be back-to-back main events," Maclin said. "Well, my wife was the main event I should say. It's a cool moment, but again, moving forward, like you said, I'm just always onto the next. All right, that's done. Now it's onto the next match, and the next match is PCO at Under Siege, and a No DQ match too. So, it's one of those things, that's what I'm focused on right now."

Maclin is staying focused on PCO, but it doesn't hurt that he's already defeated PCO in the past. That's probably one of the reasons behind the No DQ stipulation, but Maclin is more than ready for the challenge.

"Knowing that I've beaten him before and then knowing that the cards are still kind of stacked against me as well, with Scott D'Amore now making this a No DQ match," Maclin said. "And I know he doesn't like me as the World Champion, so he is trying to do everything, and I know he says he's not trying to do that, but it feels that way to me at least. I don't know if other people are feeling that way, but I could tell that management doesn't like me as the World Champion."

"I'm not their protege or their poster boy of what they would want but to go into this against PCO in a No DQ match in his own home country of being in Canada, it's one of those things where I know there's a lot against me, but I know I have the advantage. As bad as he is towards himself, I'm very adaptable to a lot of things, so Frankenstein's not going to be able to stop me," Maclin said.

steve-maclin-scott.jpg
(Photo: Impact Wrestling)

Maclin recently celebrated two years with Impact Wrestling, and in that time he's steadily risen up the ranks all the way to the top. He's had to adapt to an ever-changing industry and world during those two years, and a few lessons have stood out along the way.

"Trust in the process, if anything, for the long game. And, enjoying the creative freedom, especially working with creative with Jimmy Jacobs and Robert Evans behind the scenes and just kind of putting my thought and care into promos and storytelling or sit-down promos in interviews. It's fun to just create and I've been enjoying that and it's allowed me to evolve and get more confidence in myself too, more than anything," Maclin said. "Especially with debuting with no fans and trying this new character and trying to put this portrayal of who I think I am, to then go out and have an eight-minute match where the person gets nothing against me and I have to beat the crap out of them and there are no fans to feed off of."

"So, it's a very weird, not so much wrestling vibe when you're doing that. But, then once fans came back, that's kind of when I just started to pick up steam for myself and my confidence and just kind of feeling a crowd and feeling what they react to and learning. Now it's just having fun. Now I get to sit here, prove to everybody who I am and that's the IMPACT World Champion. Now I get to rub it in their face as well, especially up in Canada because I know they hate me in Canada," Maclin said.

Part of the fun of being Champion is getting all the awesome merchandise, and Impact recently revealed Maclin's very first figure. Maclin is now part of the Slam Buddy line, and getting your own figure is truly a one-of-a-kind experience, an experience that Maclin couldn't be more thrilled about.

"I'm so excited. It's my first, because I used to get scanned for action figures and for video games for so long with my time in WWE and then nothing ever came. I was like, all I ever wanted was an action figure because I grew up with action figures and playing with them and my mom would buy them for me. And then now here, 10 plus years later, it's just finally kind of cool to get my first thing as a Slam Buddy, which is awesome because I had an Ultimate Warrior one growing up," Maclin said.

"So, it's really cool now to, I don't know, I sent the link to my mom. My mom's so excited and it's a cool feeling that's one of those cool moments. You get to be a kid all day and that's just one of those features in this business that, I don't know, it's more than money. To be able to hand my mom a toy of me is going to be pretty cool," Maclin said.

Impact also recently revealed that will be releasing a new line of action figures, and while Maclin hasn't been revealed just yet (only the first wave has been teased), how can you not have your World Champion in the lineup? You have to, and when the time comes, Maclin knows which look and moment he wants the figure to capture.

"I think it'll be my Rebellion gear just because all the accessories can come with it. But, then I would also love an extra figure that has... Remember the old Batman toys where Bruce Wayne would flip the head or even the Power Rangers ones that flipped the head where it goes to face paint. That'd be kind of cool to have something like that, so that's where my head goes for all that. I'm a big kid. I get to be a 36-year-old man as a grown kid that never grows up," Maclin said.

Under Siege will kick off tonight at 8 PM EST on FITE TV and Impact Plus.

Who do you want to see Maclin face next? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

0comments
Start the Conversation

of