Steve Maclin reveals there were plans for CM Punk TNA feud
If things had gone differently, Steve Maclin could have worked a feud against CM Punk in TNA Wrestling.
Maclin spoke to the Pro Wrestling Illustrated podcast this month and revealed that, if Punk had decided to sign with TNA after being let go from AEW in 2023, there were plans for them to face each other. Scott D’Amore — who was in charge of TNA at the time — attempted to sign Punk after his AEW run but always knew that the prospect was unlikely. Punk returned to WWE instead, where he is the current World Heavyweight Champion.
“If you want some behind-the-scenes dirt that nobody knows about — CM Punk, before [he] almost possibly signed with TNA, was coming in and I was going to be his first challenger, which I found out right as Scott D’Amore was let go,” Maclin said. “We were having dinner one night and [D’Amore] let me know, ‘Yeah, Punk was going to almost sign there and then you were going to be his first challenger.’ I was like, ‘Sh*t!’ Would have been cool, man.”
Maclin noted that he saw Punk backstage at TNA shows in Chicago a few times around this period. Punk remembered Maclin from when he was a WWE extra.
“It was cool to just see him,” Maclin said. “And it was just like — it was fun. I’m like, ‘Oh, CM Punk, what’s up, man?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, what’s up Mr. Maclin?’ I was like, ‘Cool. Good to see you.’ Because he was really good to me when I was an extra at WWE. You always hear the horror stories as an extra, when you say hello to people, like, people shun you and stuff. But he was very respectful, and I never forgot that. That’s always something in wrestling that I never forget is the people that were nice to me on the way up.”
Maclin is a former World Champion and International Champion for TNA.
TNA star Moose has also mentioned that there were plans for him and Punk to feud over the TNA World Championship if Punk ended up coming to TNA.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.