Steve Maclin on TNA departure: ‘You hit my pocket and our family’

After five years in TNA Wrestling, Steve Maclin surprisingly left the promotion last month. Now he’s talking about his departure, and says that he wasn’t getting the same opportunities as some of his colleagues. 

Maclin discussed his exodus from TNA on his Boots to Boots podcast. 

“It was something I had been wanting for a while,” he said. “It was just trying to keep calm about it, be professional, and make things work creatively to see if things could happen, and it wasn’t happening.” 

Maclin explained that TNA made it difficult for him to take outside bookings.  

“Once you hit my pocket and our family, when you’re cutting dates on pay, that’s where it hurts,” he said. “I can’t do that when other people are getting paid to go work elsewhere while still getting paid by the company, whether it’s full payment or not; they were still doing it while I’m making this company a priority. That’s a problem for me.”

That difficulty was especially hard for Maclin because his income was not guaranteed.

“As somebody who was on a per-date contract and not a salary, it was a hard pill to swallow,” he said. “Here I am committing to you and giving every bit of me.” 

Maclin’s final match for TNA was an unsuccessful challenge for Mike Santana’s TNA World Championship—fitting, Maclin pointed out, because he had also been Santana’s opponent in his first match back in TNA in after leaving AEW in 2024.

“My last match being against Mike, and me being his first match back, it’s better than anything that would’ve happened if I did stay and finish up through Slammiversary,” Maclin said. “Carlos (Silva) was nice enough to graciously grant me my release. Tried to make some changes, but there was no going back (at that point). Once I put my foot down and close the door, it’s gone.”