Two Years After Leaving WWE, Steve Maclin Is Hitting His Stride in Impact

The Marine Corps veteran was released by WWE in early 2021 but now finds himself in Impact’s world title picture.

Thursday will be the most memorable day of Steve Maclin’s life.

The Impact Wrestling will be a factor on Thursday night’s episode of Impact, where he is steadily building a case to dethrone Josh Alexander and become champion. Yet it is unlikely he will have time to watch.

Maclin—whose real name is Steve Kupryk—is also getting married today to Deonna Purrazzo. The couple, two of wrestling’s emerging stars. chose Nov. 10 as their wedding day for a plethora of reasons, including that it is celebrated as the birthday of the Marine Corps. A proud veteran of the Marines, Maclin is honored to have his wedding day associated with his time serving the country, which helped shape him into the man he is today.

“She wanted a fall wedding, and this date is also the Marine Corps birthday, so it worked out perfectly,” Maclin says. “We have friends on Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Impact coming to the wedding, so it’s tough to find a time when everyone is free. This works, and we’re both so excited.”

Maclin and Purrazzo grew up roughly 40 minutes from each other in northern New Jersey. They each started wrestling a decade ago, but did not meet until they worked together in WWE. Before his wrestling career, though, Maclin spent four years serving in the Marines.

“After high school, it seemed like everyone in my life was going to college, then getting jobs and starting families, but I took a different route,” says Maclin, whose father is an Army veteran and whose uncle also served in the Marines. “I graduated high school and promised my mother I’d try community college, but that just wasn’t the life for me.”

Unhappy with his direction, Maclin knew precisely what he wanted for his future. He had been inspired to serve by the Sept. 11 terror attacks, so he visited a recruiter to discuss his future.

Before he could join the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines infantry battalion, which is stationed out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, or serve two tours of Afghanistan, or even attend boot camp, there was a critical first requisite. Maclin needed his mother’s blessing.

“I’m an only child, so I’m the last of my bloodline,” Maclin says. “It was a tough decision for her to make, but she gave me the permission I needed. By the time my mother saw me graduate from basic training, she knew it was my calling.”

Two of Maclin’s passions as a child were the military and pro wrestling. Once he finished his time serving in the Marines, he tackled pro wrestling.

“Wrestling is my own version of therapy,” Maclin says. “That’s been that way for me since 2012. A lot of the lessons I learned in the Marines are still instilled in me, like being on time, and the hurry up-and-wait game is very relatable in wrestling, too. Being in the locker room, it’s a lot like deployment. You’re there to do your job, do it safely, and make sure everyone gets home.”

Maclin’s rise to success featured a run with industry-leader WWE, where he worked as Steve Cutler as part of The Forgotten Sons. The team—composed of Maclin, Westin Blake, and Jaxson Ryker—gained momentum in NXT before a call-up to the main roster. Yet that was where it all unraveled, following a tone-deaf tweet from Ryker in June 2020. Ryker (real name Chad Lail), who is also a veteran of the Marines, used their wrestling catchphrase to support President Donald Trump after a group of peaceful protesters was teargassed outside the White House while making room for a Trump photo op. After Lail’s tweet irritated members of the locker room, there was ultimately no future for any of The Forgotten Sons. Maclin, who distanced himself from Lail’s comments, was released the following February, which put an even greater chip on his shoulder.

“Getting fired was a blessing in disguise,” Maclin says. “I was upset at the time, but I knew I put in the effort and shared a lot of ideas for what I could do. It didn’t work out, but that’s the business.”

.@SteveMaclin - Coming Soon #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/mCwoU9ta42

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) June 4, 2021

The turning point in Maclin’s career occurred during free agency. He made his own vignettes, showcasing the depth of his character to an extent he was never afforded in WWE. That generated interest from Impact, where he signed in June 2021—and his rise has been building ever since.

“Impact has been nothing but great to me, I’m embracing the challenge,” Maclin says. “I have the opportunity to show who I am, the freedom to do what I need to do to put on the best possible performance I can. I’m very grateful for the opportunity.

“Not every veteran comes home happy and waving the flag. I have the chance to do this my way and use my voice in a different way. I want to be Impact world champion. and I want to do it in a way that is different from everybody else.”

Maclin portrays a very authentic character. As evidenced by his barbed wire triple-threat match earlier this fall, he brings a sense of realism in his on-camera approach to be champion, which is the same approach he takes behind the scenes with his work ethic.

The current goal for Maclin is his ongoing development into a more layered performer. He is in the mix in the world title program with Alexander, Frankie Kazarian and Bully Ray, all performers who have continually evolved their presentation throughout their careers.

“That’s the fun creative challenge,” Maclin says. “I love what I want to do. I have more goals here in Impact and beyond. I want to work in Japan. Maybe at some point I can get in a producing role. And I know there will be gold around my waist soon.”

Only 35, Maclin is on the cusp of reaching greatness. At the current pace, a championship reign is inevitable. Much sooner than that, there will also be gold around Maclin’s finger. A number of pro wrestlers will be present at the wedding, including best man Westin Blake, witnessing one of the industry’s best love stories take the next step in their relationship.

“We are really looking forward to this,” Maclin says. “Deonna and I, we never crossed paths for the longest time. When we were in NXT, we got to know each other, and the rest is history.”

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.