Coming off his successful debut with IMPACT Wrestling, Steve Maclin, formerly known as Steve Cutler, is ready to get to work.
In doing so, he’s excited to show the world the character he has been wanting to portray for a long time, dating back to his days in WWE NXT.
In an interview with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, Maclin shared his vision of this persona, both the way it currently stands and its initial roots during his time in WWE’s developmental system.
“My character is pretty much me,” said Maclin. “It’s getting my point across, but it’s also a contrast of taking The Punisher and Captain America and moving it all into one.
“It’s not so much making it the patriot, but more the darker side of everything and crossing that line that many people never want to talk about or go into. So now I get to play on that side of the tracks where I was told no for so long.”
In comparison to the initial versions of the persona, Maclin described how “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes encouraged the patriotic side of his gimmick in NXT, but finding the right representation of this trait remains difficult.
“Originally it was a very babyface, patriotic, Captain America like thing and I enjoyed doing it, but I don’t think that comes across right anymore,” said Maclin. “The Sgt. Slaughter type who salutes the flag, I just think the only one who’d get away with that now is John Cena. Nowadays, to come out like a whitemeat babyface is very hard.”
On the other hand, Maclin noted how a villanous twist to the patriotic gimmick could be a compelling direction.
“I think the other direction would be great,” said Maclin. “Shoving in everyone’s face that I am a veteran and being an ass about it, it’s one of those things where it allows you to tell the truth even more. Which, as a heel, telling the truth is always the fun thing because you can say what you want and believe it.”
Maclin also noted how he likes the way IMPACT Wrestling has accepted his vision for the character and complimented the promotion’s willingness to let performers grow by themselves.
“It’s not f you, do this person’s idea and not mine you’ll get heat type of thing. It reminds me of the early NXT days where you just try and get your character across and get your personality into it as much as you can.”
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