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Former Steve Cutler Talks About Release From WWE
Steve Maclin, formerly known as Steve Cutler, was released from WWE earlier this year following a New Year’s Eve party he attended. Maclin had been with the company for over seven years, making his way from NXT to the main roster as a member of the Forgotten Sons, alongside Wesley Blake and Jaxson Ryker.
The group was removed from television shortly after Jaxson Ryker tweeted his support for then US President, Donald Trump, after he threatened military force against people protesting after the murder of George Floyd. Blake and Cutler made their return to SmackDown several months later as King Corbin’s henchmen, known as ‘Knights Of The Lone Wolf’. Jaxson Ryker is the only member remaining in WWE after Wesley Blake was among the mass releases by the company back in April.
Steve Maclin recently sat down with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, where he discussed his time with WWE, his release from the company.
Maclin began by detailing the New Year’s Eve party he attended, and how it could have led to his release by the company.
“It was just more shocking than anything just ‘cause I did not expect that from what was being said to me and then also not being said to me as well. Part of me is like, ‘Oh, okay. Now I’m looking back at things and alright it does make sense.’ So, for my side of the story, which everybody plays the game of telephone in the wrestling universe, so my side of the story is New Year’s Eve, go to a party with friends that I was around with throughout COVID who were constantly tested. We all know because we’re constantly tested together. So, it’s a small knit group that we have. We have a New Year’s party, and there’s multiple New Year’s parties and that’s where the mix-up came from somehow, I don’t know, higher. Doesn’t nearly mean anything now. We had the New Year’s party. Next day I go to TV, I test negative. Work TV, Blake and I work there with Corbin. We do our thing. Monday I find out one of the friends that we had there tested positive. So, Deonna and I went out and got tested like we should do, like anybody should have done, like the right-minded and I came back negative. That was that Monday. So, okay cool. No symptoms. Nothing happening. Go to TV Friday and I test positive for the nose swab at WWE TV at Tropicana Field. I’m like, ‘Okay, what do I do?’ Get on the hotline with doctors, talk, we find out what’s going on and they say, ‘Yep, just quarantine.’ Okay, cool. Talk to the writers, everything’s cool and then Blake tested negative. So, he stayed,”
Maclin commented on how he was informed that WWE CEO Vince McMahon mentioned that he wanted to fire him after he tested positive for COVID-19.
“I’m on my way home and then here I am getting texts from Blake. Get a phone call, ‘Hey, do you have heat? Like for something you have done?’ I’m like, ‘I dunno. Why?’ He goes, ‘Ah, somebody’s kind of pissed and a few people said in a meeting that Vince wanted to fire you at that moment,’ and I had a few friends that were in that meeting as well. I was like, ‘Huh. Okay. That’s good. So, of course, I send a message to Mark Carrano saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know what’s going on or what’s being thrown around, if there’s anything you need to talk to me about, please call me, text me, let me know what’s up.’ No answer. That’s how I found out, pretty much, I had COVID that day, quarantine for the next week. Kept in contact with writers. Still no answer back from higher of writer team and creative team. Yeah. What a time. So, it’s just one of those moments of loss.”
Maclin commented on how he had been helping out at the WWE Performance Center several hours before receiving the call from Mark Carrano informing him of his release.
One of the writers we kept in touch with said, ‘No, you guys are fine. You guys were brought up in creative as well.’ Okay, cool. Then weeks go by. Weeks go by again. I know Vince McMahon wasn’t at TV for a while ‘cause his brother passed and condolences for that. So, we knew obviously we’re not getting an answer ‘cause the boss isn’t there. Makes sense. So, in the meantime I got in touch with Mark Carrano because Otis reached out to me, ‘Hey, brother, you mind coming around? Like rolling around with the big man class (at the Performance Center)? Could use some help.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, definitely.’ It gets me in the ring, keeps me in shape, I get to actually be in a good ring at the PC and I know everybody and I can bump around and I know how Otis works. We’ve worked together for years. So, that day I’m in there, it’s producer Adam Pearce, myself, Drew Gulak, Babatunde and then Big Jordan / Omos. We’re all just rolling around, and I get done in the ring and I have a text from Mark Carrano. He says, ‘Hey, Steve. When you get a chance, give me a call.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, cool. It’s just about, maybe, some creative.’ Text him back, I’m like, ‘Hey. I’m just leaving the PC now. Can you call now?’ He says, ‘Oh, I’m getting on a flight to Tampa. I can get back to you in a little bit.’ Okay, no problem. Few hours go by, get home. Eating dinner, it’s around 7:30 and then I get the call from Carrano saying, ‘Hey, Steve.’ ‘Oh, hey, Mark. How is everything?’ ‘Good. I don’t like making these calls, but—’ Obviously. Instantly it just clicked. ‘Ah. I’m getting fired. Awesome.’ Looked at (Deonna). She’s like, ‘What’s the matter?’ I’m just like, ‘Ah, well I’m getting fired.’ ‘Lo and behold it’s the exact same timeframe kind of close to when she was let go. But, it was just one of those things.”
The group was pulled from television shortly after Jaxson Ryker made some comments supporting then-US President, Donald Trump. Maclin discussed his thoughts on the situation.
“Listen, everybody has their opinion. Everybody’s allowed to have their opinion. That’s the point of social media. Obviously there’s a two sided coin to everything on how you feel and how you view things. Feel how you want to feel. Say what you want to say. That’s your business, not mine. I’m out walking the dogs with D and I get a bunch of texts. My phone starts blowing up, ‘Hey, what the hell?’ I’m just looking, it’s just screenshots of the tweet. I’m just like, ‘Oh, come on.’ I’m like, ‘I’m doing nothing I’m literally at home walking my dogs.’ Then it just instilled from there on how everything unfolded and that happened,”
Shortly after the comments made by Ryker brought the team off of television, reports circulated mentioning how Blake and Cutler had begun to distance themselves from their former teammate. Maclin confirmed this during the interview.
“We reached out to the office and we went to the Performance Center where Smackdown was taping still at that time, so was RAW. So, Blake and I went in that next day ‘cause Ryker was living in North Carolina at this time. He moved out of Florida about that time. So, Blake and I went in, sat down with Mark Carrano. ‘Hey, you guys are good. Don’t worry about it. Everything’s going to be fine. Just give it a week. It’ll kind of blow over.’ Okay. But, we’ve seen this before. We know the way the company works. Alright, we’re just kind of getting the smoke blown up to us. Everybody talked to us. Big E, Kofi, we just sat and we talked. They were like, ‘You guys are fine. Listen, it’s fine.’ It’s just the way things are type of thing. It’s a shitty situation. ‘Cause it’s just a different time in the world and it’s just shitty because we don’t want to be involved in it because it’s not our business. It’s our business to care for one another, but just keep your words to yourself at this time. Just stick to wrestling in that aspect. But, then again, like I said, you’re allowed to have your opinion. Then, I think, what was worse than the tweet was what resurfaced afterwards, but that’s his business, not ours. That’s where we were like, ‘Listen, this is how we distance ourselves. This is how we feel. This is us.’ Especially me in general, I wanted to distance myself as quick as possible because that’s just because not how I think.”
Maclin was handed a 90-day no-compete upon his release, which expires on May 14th.
You can watch the full interview from Fightful below
Special thanks to Fightful for the transcription