Steve Maclin is pushing back against the idea that he should constantly lean on his real-life military background as part of his wrestling persona.
Speaking to WrestleZone’s Managing Editor Bill Pritchard, former TNA World Champion Steve Maclin revealed fans and promoters expected him to play up the “Marine” identity in his character, especially early in his career and during his WWE days.
“All the time. My time in WWE, even when I started on the independents, that’s what you people wanted. It’s like, no, that’s not authentic. That’s not what a veteran does. Especially being a Marine, you’re not out there flaunting it,” Maclin said.
While Maclin is proud of that chapter in his life, it’s not something he wants to exploit on television. “My time in service is my time in service. That was a part of my life. I got to do exactly what I wanted to do during my time there, and that was to go fight for and serve my country.”
Steve Maclin won’t force the ‘Marine’ identity on screen
Though he’s okay if a wrestling promotion references it, Maclin is against the narrative that he has to aggressively promote his military background as part of his persona.
“I’m not someone who likes to push that agenda. They can use my background if they want, but I’ll never push it down anybody’s throat because I don’t feel like that’s right or authentic. That’s what I’ve always tried to be, no matter what, in the ring. I try to be myself and as authentic as I can, whether I’m a babyface or a heel.”
The TNA star also hinted at a more aggressive, unfiltered version of his character, saying: “For me, it’s however you want to look at it and perceive it. And like we said earlier about layers, we’re getting to a layer now where I’m just going to become a belligerent Marine. And that’s the worst thing you could ever want a Marine to be, belligerent and on your head, because now I don’t care.”
Referencing his unceremonious ouster from TNA Wrestling, Steve Maclin said he’s no longer worried about consequences. “What are you going to do, fire me? I’ve already been fired. I’ve been fired from WWE. I’ve been fired from TNA. And look what happened when I got fired from TNA. I got my job back because I used everybody else,” he explained.
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