Former World Champion's TNA Contract Set To Expire

This former TNA World Champion's contract is due to expire in a couple of months.

Steve Maclin
TNA

One of TNA Wrestling's biggest stars could be a free agent in a couple of months, with new reports noting how Steve Maclin's deal with the promotion is set to expire soon.

Via Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful on his SRS Backstage Report show, Maclin's current TNA deal is up in May.

As Sapp detailed:

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"His contract is actually up in May. He signed a multi-year deal with TNA, and it was announced on June 3rd 2021 he had signed a contract with IMPACT. That has come up about three years. It's gonna be interesting to see where he lands. He is 36, he'll be 37 when the deal's up. With just an incredible amount of experience in WWE, he spent seven years in that system, he's very familiar with it. Right now, he's going to be wanted for his in-ring presence, but down the line he is going to be a guy who is also wanted for his wrestling brain, because he's got an awful big wrestling brain. A big student of the game, and overall just a good guy."

As alluded to, Steve Maclin landed in TNA - then IMPACT Wrestling, of course - in June 2021, soon establishing himself as a significant player for the Anthem promotion. So much so, he'd have a run as the company's World Champion in April 2023, defeating Kushida to win that prize after Josh Alexander had been forced to vacate the title due to injury.

Maclin would have a 54-day run as TNA World Champion before dropping that belt to Alex Shelley at last year's Against All Odds special.

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Of course, prior to TNA, Maclin spent seven years under the WWE banner, signing with the market leader in 2014. Under the Steve Cutler name, he'd be a part of NXT for a few years before moving to SmackDown in April 2020 as part of the Forgotten Sons stable alongside Wesley Blake and Jaxson Ryker.

Unfortunately for Cutler and Blake, the Forgotten Sons were soon pulled from TV due to controversial social media comments by Ryker. The two would briefly resurface as the Knights of the Lone Wolf as back-up for Baron Corbin, but that came to an end when Cutler was released in February 2021.

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For those who've not kept up with Steve Maclin since that WWE departure, these years spent with TNA have allowed the former Marine to showcase just what an in-ring talent he is. Whether Maclin ends up re-signing with TNA or opts to explore his options with a WWE or AEW - AEW nowadays being the home of Maclin's wife Deonna Purrazzo - he's a talent any promotion would be lucky to have amongst its roster.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Fightful Select with an H/T to WhatCulture Wrestling.

 
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.