Steve Maclin is not exactly rushing back to TNA, but he isn’t necessarily closing the door on it either.
After recently explaining that money issues and creative frustration led him to ask for his release, the former TNA World Champion gave fans an update during an Instagram Live session. When asked if he could ever return to TNA one day, Maclin did not slam the door forever, but he made it very clear that’s not the move right now.
“Maybe somewhere down the road in the future. Not right now. I’m enjoying this free agency and popping up wherever I want to pop up.”
Steve Maclin then named a few places that are clearly on his radar, and Japan seems to be sitting pretty high on the list: “MLW, MLP, NOAH, NJPW — Japan is high on my list.”
That tracks with everything Maclin has already said about his TNA exit. He previously confirmed on his Boots to Boots podcast that he asked for his release after feeling creatively stuck and frustrated over cut dates affecting his pay. For a wrestler on a per-date deal, that was not just a booking issue. That was family money.
“I did. It was granted. I asked for a week prior before our show and it was something I had been wanting for a while and you know that, but it was just trying to keep calm about it and being professional about it and trying to make things work creatively to see if things can happen and just it wasn’t happening.
Once you hit my pocket and our family, like that’s when when you’re cutting dates on pay that’s where it hurts and it’s just like I can’t do that when other people are getting paid to go work elsewhere while still getting paid by the company whether it’s full payment or not. They’re still doing that and I’m making this company a priority. Why is that not — that’s a problem to me. For me as somebody who was on a per-date contract and not on salary was very a tough was a hard pill to swallow for me just because I’m like here I am committing to you and giving you every bit of me going out there and just delivering the best that I can and I felt we did that in the end with me and Mike.”
Now he gets to move like a free agent, and it sounds like he plans to take full advantage of that. Whether it is MLW, MLP, NOAH, NJPW, or somewhere else entirely, Maclin is clearly more interested in stacking bodies on his own terms than running it back with TNA anytime soon.
Do you want to see Steve Maclin show up in Japan next, or should he stay closer to home with MLW or MLP? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know.
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