In a recent appearance on The Wrestling Perspective podcast, Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Steve Maclin reflected on winning the prestigious title at Rebellion and the changes that occurred along the way.
Maclin defeated KUSHIDA to win the vacant Impact World Heavyweight Title at the Rebellion pay-per-view event.
Maclin explained how the initial plans were altered by Bully Ray and the ensuing elements helped raise the stakes with Josh Alexander.
While Alexander had to vacate the title due to an injury, Maclin was satisfied with the resulting story, particularly highlighting the fact that he and his wife, Deonna Purrazzo, won titles concurrently on the same night.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On when he learned that he was headed for a title win: “I kind of knew about a month before that I was going over, and then I always just go into things with wrestling. Things always change, and I try to keep a clear head of not getting my hopes up. So I’m not disappointed. So I always keep my standards pretty low and everything. That’s one thing I learned in the Marine Corps, is keep your standards pretty low because you’re going to be disappointed at some point.”
On how the narrative changed over time: “I’ll worry about it when I get out there, is it cool to know ahead of time? Where we’re going for the story? Because originally, I was supposed to go towards the title at Bound for Glory win in the Call Your Own Shot, but then Bully came in, changed it, and it actually helped me in the long run with the storyline as well. Because then it went to Bully [Ray] and Josh [Alexander] built Josh up even more, and then it was building even more for me and Josh where we knew it was going to be Josh and I at Rebellion.”
On finally getting the title at the same show as Purrazzo’s victory: “How are we going to get there? Plans changed. But, being told that I was going to win was awesome, and even for my wife to win the title on the same night made it even cooler because we never imagined that to happen. We did expect to be champions at some point together, but never on the same night, winning and especially her main eventing with Jordynne [Grace]. They killed it. I was so happy for her, so proud of her.”
Also on The Wrestling Perspective podcast, Demolition’s Smash compared the men’s and women’s divisions in WWE.
Smash stated that the female talents are currently outperforming the males in the current scenario.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On the benefits of increased access for fans: “I think it’s good. There are more ways for people to watch. It keeps wrestlers on their toes. They’ve got to be good for people to watch them. For somebody to get over now, the office really has to push them, and the wrestlers have to be incredible at their trade. Otherwise, they’re not going to have jobs.”
On how the men’s and women’s divisions rank comparatively at WWE: “I watched Charlotte Flair. Unbelievable. I had never seen her wrestle [before] and I thought that was one of the best matches on the card. It was incredible. She was phenomenal. Then, I started watching some more women’s matches — they’re incredible…. The guys are all doing the same thing, just moving up and down — same moves and all that. The girls now are what the guys used to be — they’re tough. These women have changed wrestling. It’s huge.”