Steve Maclin proud to make TNA history alongside AJ Styles and Kurt Angle (Exclusive)

Steve Maclin defeated AJ Francis and Eric Young at TNA Unbreakable on April 17 to win the newly introduced International Championship. In an exclusive interview, the 37-year-old expressed his pride after following in AJ Styles and Kurt Angle's footsteps to become an inaugural TNA title holder.

In 2002, Styles won a four-way double elimination match to be crowned the first TNA X Division Champion. Five years later, Angle made history by beating Christian Cage and Sting to become the first TNA World Champion.

Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Kevin Kellam, Maclin reflected on his International Championship triumph. He also revealed how his wife, AEW's Deonna Purrazzo, reacted to his title win.

"She was very happy," Maclin said. "She was in Boston at that time, too, so she was there in Boston watching because she was at Collision that day. She knew going in that she had all the faith in me to go out there and give my all. She had no doubt in my mind that I was coming home with the International Championship, the first ever TNA International Champion, so it's really cool to be etched in history with names like AJ Styles and Kurt Angle as the first in TNA." [1:58 – 2:22]

Watch the video above to hear Steve Maclin discuss several TNA and WWE topics, including Joe Hendry's surprise match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41.

Steve Maclin to defend title at TNA Rebellion

On April 27, Eric Young will challenge Steve Maclin for the TNA International Championship. The storyline has revolved around Young attempting to convince Maclin to join forces with him and fellow Northern Armory members Judas Icarus and Travis Williams.

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Maclin has known Young for several years and is excited to step into the ring with the veteran wrestler again:

"We've been saying this going back and forth now for almost six months now, where we knew it was gonna come down to us. Whether it was for the title or not, we knew at some point we were gonna cross paths again, man to man, and have to fight it out. We've done that before, I came out on top on that one, and now with him having The Northern Armory and our battle between that and how we disagree on that has been something to kind of get in between us." [7:58 – 8:23]

In their last one-on-one bout, Maclin defeated Young in a 10-minute match at TNA Emergence in August 2024.

Get all the latest TNA action, merchandise, and more at TNAWrestling.com.

Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the video if you use Steve Maclin's quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart