Steve Maclin Takes Pride In His Work, Wants Fans To Realize What He Does Isn’t ‘Fake’

Steve Maclin is all about keeping up appearances and making the most out of his professional wrestling career.

WrestleZone spoke with Steve Maclin to promote IMPACT Wrestling’s recent television tapings in Orlando. Maclin is considered to be a heel on air, but he’s far from a bad guy when the cameras are off. Asked if he’d consider portraying a babyface and the dynamic of playing the opposite, Maclin said he’s very invested in making sure fans get everything they hoped for at shows.

“Once I go through that curtain, it’s go time. That’s work. Even when I’m behind the scenes or doing signings, it’s still work time, but the fans are paying to see me to get an autograph and meet me. There I am interacting with you, so you’re paying to see me with the time you’re allotted, and I try to make the most of it,” Maclin said. “I wanna make the most when I meet fans behind the scenes and I’m gonna be nice to you because I was that fan at one time. Where I was going up to shows early at the Continental Airlines Arena, which became the Izod Center in East Rutherford, and I would try and show up and see the wrestlers come in early. I love wrestling, I love being a fan myself. But when I am out there, it’s go time, and I have one goal and that is to be the IMPACT World Champion.

“I want to suspend the disbelief and make everything that I do mean something. When they leave seeing me, I want them to realize that it’s not the ‘fake’ word,” Maclin added. “I want people to come across like, ‘Okay, he just kicked the shit out of him.’ So it’s one of those things that I take pride in doing my job. But if I was to be a babyface, nothing would probably change. Maybe I’d smile a little more, I don’t know.”

Steve Maclin previously told SEScoops‘ Ella Jay that he was pursuing his bachelor’s degree in psychology and gave an update on how that goal is going.

“It’s going, man, it’s just—school work and me is not the best [relationship]. I’m a very procrastinating person when it comes to work; I like to get it all done last minute. But it’s going well. I enjoy it. The one thing I like about online school too is there’s more of an open discussion, and being able to talk like this, even though we’re typing through words and stuff. But it’s fun, and it’s another thing to add to later on in life. It’s nothing to fall back on it, but it’s something to have down the road if I was to pursue something outside of wrestling. It’s also let me get more in-tuned with what’s going on in the world with mental health and understanding, especially being from military, and a lot of my buddies with PTSD, myself included, dealing with with troubles, getting out of the Marine Corp. and transitioning to real life. Trying to figure out where you fit in, what’s this, what’s that. What’s the reason for this? My mind is really on that outside of work. Other than that, it lets me communicate a lot better with fans.”

Asked if he’d ever consider balancing a career in psychology and as a wrestler, Maclin ruled that out and said he’s very much focused on what he’s doing in the ring now.

“I would say after [I’m done wrestling] just because I have to have everything in one pot right now. I have every bit of me in one hundred percent of wrestling. When I got let go from WWE, I was looking for a 9-5 job to keep paying the bills, trying to figure something out,” Maclin said. “Luckily, my time in IMPACT, I got there right away. Within a day, I had my contract there. Everything is in wrestling right now.”

Read More: Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up: Royal Rumble Preview, Saraya & Toni Storm Turn Heel, Kaia McKenna Interview