Steve Maclin Granted His Release From TNA As Another Major Departure Raises Serious Questions About The Company’s Direction

TNA Wrestling has suffered another significant blow at a time when the company desperately needs stability, momentum and a clear sense of direction.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select was the first to report that Steve Maclin had been granted his release from TNA. The company later confirmed that Maclin and Myla Grace had both been released effective immediately.

Maclin leaving is not simply another name quietly disappearing from the roster. He was a former TNA World Champion, the inaugural TNA International Champion, a two-time holder of that title and one of the most dependable upper-card wrestlers in the company. He was still involved in the TNA World Championship picture less than three weeks ago.

There has not been a confirmed explanation for why Maclin requested his release. It would be irresponsible to pretend otherwise. However, his departure arrives during an increasingly uncomfortable period for TNA, with multiple wrestlers leaving the company, requesting their releases or publicly raising questions about communication, creative direction and their futures.

One departure can be explained away. A growing pattern cannot be ignored.

From The Marines To WWE

Steve Maclin’s real name is Stephen Kupryk. Before becoming a professional wrestler, he served in the United States Marine Corps, completing two deployments to Afghanistan as an infantry machine gunner.

His path into wrestling was not conventional.

Maclin met Darren Young and WWE referee Shawn Bennett shortly before one of his deployments. Young encouraged him to keep professional wrestling in the back of his mind because he believed Maclin had the look and background to succeed in the business.

After leaving the Marines, Maclin trained at the Monster Factory in New Jersey. Danny Cage eventually contacted WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco, who evaluated Maclin and helped open the door for a WWE Performance Center tryout.

Maclin signed with WWE in January 2014 and became known as Steve Cutler.

His most notable opportunity came as a member of The Forgotten Sons alongside Wesley Blake and Jaxson Ryker. Cutler and Blake reached the final of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and later moved to SmackDown with Ryker in April 2020.

The faction initially appeared to be receiving a legitimate push, but its momentum collapsed after Ryker drew widespread criticism for a political social-media post during the nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd.

Cutler and Blake eventually returned without Ryker as associates of King Corbin, but the repackaging never became anything meaningful. WWE released Cutler on February 4, 2021.

Reinventing Himself In TNA

Maclin did not allow the end of his WWE run to define the rest of his career.

His wife, Deonna Purrazzo, was already one of the most important members of the Knockouts division when Maclin began appearing around IMPACT Wrestling tapings after his WWE release. That connection helped place him in the right environment, but the opportunity only mattered because Maclin made something out of it.

He joined IMPACT Wrestling in June 2021 and quickly established himself as a far more compelling singles wrestler than WWE ever allowed him to become.

Maclin was physical, intense and believable. His military background remained part of his presentation without becoming a shallow stereotype. He carried himself like someone who did not need manufactured theatrics to come across as dangerous.

He gradually moved from the X Division picture into more violent rivalries, including his program with Sami Callihan. By 2023, Maclin had developed into a credible world-title contender.

When Josh Alexander was forced to relinquish the IMPACT World Championship because of injury, Maclin defeated KUSHIDA at Rebellion to win the vacant title.

His reign was brief. Alex Shelley defeated him at Against All Odds less than two months later. However, the championship still represented the culmination of one of the better reinvention stories from the modern IMPACT era.

Maclin arrived as a former WWE developmental wrestler whose main-roster opportunity had fallen apart. He became a believable world champion.

Maclin’s TNA Future Had Already Become Complicated

Maclin legitimately re-signed with TNA in April 2024 after his previous deal approached its expiration date.

His contractual status became murkier earlier this year.

Maclin retrieved the pink-slip briefcase during the Feast or Fired storyline and was fired from TNA on television. The storyline eventually led to his reinstatement and a TNA World Championship match against Mike Santana at Sacrifice.

TNA publicly announced in March that Maclin had re-signed with the company following his reinstatement.

Maclin later corrected that announcement.

He explained that he had not signed a new deal. He had simply been reinstated to the contract he already held before the Feast or Fired storyline. Maclin also made a pointed remark about the departments responsible for the announcement not doing their jobs well enough.

At the time, the comment could have been dismissed as Maclin speaking in character or expressing minor frustration.

It reads differently now.

His Final TNA Program Ended With Mike Santana

Maclin’s final major TNA storyline was not a forgettable undercard program. He was challenging for the company’s top championship.

Maclin faced TNA World Champion Mike Santana at Sacrifice on March 27. The match ended prematurely after Santana connected with a superkick and Maclin lost his bearings. Maclin later explained that he did not suffer a concussion, but he temporarily lost feeling in his arms and experienced instability in his legs.

Stopping the match was unquestionably the correct decision.

Once Maclin was medically cleared, TNA booked the rematch for the May 21 episode of Thursday Night iMPACT! on AMC.

Santana retained the championship after a competitive main event. That match became Maclin’s final televised appearance for the company.

The timing makes his departure more damaging. Maclin was not sitting at home without a role. He was not drifting aimlessly in the lower card. He had just worked a world-title program against one of the central figures in the company.

Deonna Purrazzo’s Departure Was Different

Maclin’s wife, current ROH Women’s Pure Champion Deonna Purrazzo, left TNA at the end of 2023 before joining AEW in January 2024.

Her exit should not be described as a release.

Purrazzo’s contract expired, allowing her to enter free agency and make the jump to AEW. Maclin’s situation is different because TNA granted his release while he was still under contract.

Purrazzo working within the AEW and ROH ecosystem will naturally lead to speculation that Maclin could eventually join her. A WWE return will also be discussed because of his history with the company and the growth he has shown since his release five years ago.

Neither destination has been confirmed.

What Is Happening In TNA?

Maclin’s departure would be concerning on its own.

It becomes more difficult to dismiss because it arrives during a wider period of roster turnover.

Dani Luna requested and received her release. Myla Grace has now departed alongside Maclin. Steph De Lander and Mance Warner left the company following a dispute surrounding De Lander’s medical clearance. Other wrestlers have also moved on during a year when TNA should be focused on strengthening its roster rather than repeatedly losing valuable pieces.

Every situation is different.

A contract expiring is not the same as a wrestler asking to leave. A medical-clearance disagreement is not automatically connected to a creative dispute. A wrestler pursuing a larger opportunity does not prove that a company is falling apart.

However, TNA cannot keep treating every departure as an isolated event while the list continues growing.

Maclin’s exit is particularly damaging because he represented exactly what TNA should be selling to wrestlers.

He arrived after WWE failed to maximize him. TNA gave him space to reinvent himself. Maclin rewarded that opportunity by becoming a world champion, helping establish the International Championship and developing into a reliable upper-card wrestler who could be inserted into an important program without feeling out of place.

That should have made him someone worth keeping.

Creative Direction, Communication And Talent Retention

There has been no confirmed report establishing that Maclin requested his release because of money, booking, management, an offer from another promotion or one specific disagreement.

The company still needs to ask difficult questions.

Maclin publicly praised the TNA locker room shortly before his departure, but he also acknowledged that wrestlers sometimes have to make bad creative look good on television.

That criticism was not difficult to understand.

TNA has talented wrestlers and a stronger platform through its AMC television deal, but the weekly product still too often lacks urgency. Important matches can arrive without enough build. Promising talent can spend weeks drifting without a meaningful direction. Programs can feel rushed when they should be allowed to develop naturally.

Maclin’s rematch with Santana is an example.

The Sacrifice stoppage created an organic story. Maclin had a legitimate reason to demand another opportunity. Santana had a reason to prove that he could defeat him without any uncertainty surrounding the result.

TNA gave the rematch away on television.

Putting major matches on AMC is not inherently a mistake. The show needs stakes. The problem is that TNA did not make the rematch feel as important as it could have been, and Maclin was gone less than three weeks later.

The communication issue is also becoming harder to overlook.

TNA announced that Maclin had re-signed. Maclin said he had not.

Steph De Lander described her own frustrating experience surrounding her medical clearance and communication with management.

These situations may not be directly connected, but they contribute to the same perception: TNA does not always appear to be operating with the clarity and structure that a company on a larger television platform should have.

A Major Loss At The Wrong Time

Steve Maclin leaving TNA is not catastrophic.

The company still has talent. Mike Santana remains a strong world champion. Leon Slater continues to develop into a major star. Mustafa Ali, The Hardys, The System and several other wrestlers give TNA pieces to build around.

However, losing Maclin is a serious blow.

He was not replaceable simply because TNA can sign another wrestler. Maclin had history with the company, credibility with the audience and enough versatility to work in the main-event picture or elevate a secondary championship.

TNA helped Maclin rebuild his career.

Maclin became one of the company’s success stories.

Now he has decided that his future is better served somewhere else.

That should concern TNA far more than any attempt to minimize the departure.

The question is no longer whether every wrestler leaving has the same reason.

The question is why so many wrestlers have reached the conclusion that leaving is their best option.

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