Steve Maclin discusses IMPACT 1000, the promotion's roster, and his dream opponent.
After spending nearly two months on the shelf due to injury, Steve Maclin recently made his return to IMPACT Wrestling at the company's television tapings on August 28. As a result of his injury, Maclin missed the Slammiversary pay-per-view, which is considered to be the biggest show of the year for IMPACT Wrestling.
In a new interview with Fightful, Maclin talked about the upcoming IMPACT 1000 event and how the show will be good for fans.
"That’s the thing about wrestling, though. You never say never. That’s the one old adage. ‘Oh, they’ll never be back here.’ ‘Never say never.’ It’s just one of those things where it’s gonna be good for fans and it’ll be good for us because it’s 1,000 episodes in IMPACT Wrestling. It’s showing the longevity that this company has had from its TNA days into becoming IMPACT and where we’re going in the future. That’s the one cool thing about it, is you can have these nostalgia shows just like a RAW 1000 or SmackDown. Everybody has their nostalgia shows. I’m sure AEW at some point will do their nostalgia shows when they have their anniversary. Those are the ones you want to put out for and it’s gonna be cool to have the mesh of the old and the new. You get to see how that’s gonna work. I’m excited to see Team 3-D. They’re one of those teams I grew up loving and I get to work with Bully as my tag partner as well this Thursday on IMPACT Wrestling. So it’s kinda cool to think about, when you’re a kid and you forget about being a wrestling in the business, now you think about, ‘Wow, I never thought I’d be doing this.’"
Although IMPACT 1000 will feature many legends from the promotion's past, the show will also feature much of the current roster. Maclin was asked to name some people who he vibes with in the IMPACT locker room, to which he noted he gets along with everybody.
"Pretty much, I get along with everybody. That’s just how like I feel I’ve always been. I can mingle with people. But if it’s the day of work, I’m usually kind of on my own or in my own head with promos and ideas. I’ll talk with Robert Evans about just ideas for creative. He’s behind the scenes, one of the writers. It’s good chatting with him to get ideas and bouncing what my thought process is. Bully’s now been a person I can go to that I’ve latched to for advice. He’s very honest and that’s always the best thing is finding those honest people when they tell you what you should be hearing, not just what you want to hear. EY, Eddie Edwards, I even talk to Moose as much you would not think Moose would be one of those people you’d go to. But, ‘Hey, how does this flow sound?’ ‘Cause he has a good mind for things too for the athletic side. He’s just good to go to. I don’t know. The whole locker room in general. Crazzy Steve’s another one of those guys I go to for creative stuff. He’s been doing awesome. Frankie Kazarian’s been another one I’ve been going to. We’ve kind of gelled together on the Australian tour. Just ideas and not even talking wrestling. Music and life. Just always fun. But Crazzy Steve was the one that would always do my face paint when I did it the few times."
Fightful then proceeded to ask Maclin who his dream IMPACT Wrestling opponent would be.
"AJ [Styles]. Dude, he’s so damn good. He was so damn good then and he’s even better now. He’s so crisp with his movements. But AJ is one of those matches, to me, he’s the flag bearer of what TNA was at that time and he’s a homegrown guy. It’d be kind of cool to have a match like that for me and AJ."
Elsewhere in the interview, Maclin chatted about his upcoming match against Josh Alexander at Victory Road. Fans can learn more here.
Fans can see Fightful's full interview with Maclin linked above.
