Steve Maclin has fond memories of this WWE WrestleMania classic.
Speaking with WrestleZone’s Managing Editor Bill Pritchard, the former two-time TNA World Champion explained that wrestling has always been about emotional storytelling and allowing fans to escape into the experience.
“We’re there to psychologically mess with everybody’s emotions and help people escape into the world of pro wrestling. That’s what I’ve always loved about pro wrestling. It was always an escape for me,” he said.
Maclin also credited his late grandmother for introducing him to wrestling through legends like Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant, before discovering Bret Hart, which further deepened his passion for the industry.
“I grew up with my grandmother, who just recently passed. She’s the one who introduced me to pro wrestling through Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant, who were two of her favorites. Then I saw Bret Hart on television, and I was like, ‘What is this?'”
Steve Maclin reveals his favorite match
Maclin revealed that Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart from WrestleMania X is his favorite match of all time, praising its storytelling and emotional depth.
“Bret versus Owen at WrestleMania 10 was my number one match. That entire year-long buildup just took every bit of me and put it into that entire story of little brother versus big brother. You felt for Owen in the end. At WrestleMania 10, Bret lost in the opener but ended the night as champion. Owen is just standing there shaking his head like, ‘are you kidding me?’ That’s perfect. It’s just a perfect storm of pro wrestling for me.
“That’s what I always try to emulate to the best of my ability. I try to tell the best stories, to evoke emotion from people, and to pull that emotion from my opponents as well.”
Steve Maclin also recalled watching classic VHS tapes growing up, including early WWE and WCW events.
“My grandmother and grandfather would get bootleg WCW and WWF pay-per-views on VHS. That’s what I had. I just had boxes of VHS tapes, and that was it. The Royal Rumble in ’95, when Shawn [Michaels] won, and he and [British] Bulldog were numbers one and two, those were the ones I watched constantly. For some reason, I just loved those two as a kid. I watched those VHS tapes all the time.”
READ MORE: Steve Maclin Details Injury That ‘Scared The Hell Out Of Me’ at TNA Sacrifice
