As noted before, Steve Maclin suffered a head-related injury during his match against Mike Santana for the TNA World Championship at this past March’s TNA Sacrifice 2026 event in Westwego, Louisiana. Maclin was later revealed to have cleared all of his medical tests and was not diagnosed with a concussion injury.
A recent episode of the Boots To Boots podcast featured co-host Maclin going into detail about his injury scare incident following Santana’s stiff superkick spot to him during their match.
“I hit the ropes, and next thing I remember, the next thing I know I’m on the ground trying to figure out what’s going on with my body even though my head from the neck up is normal. This is the first time I’ve ever been rocked in a match where that is the complete opposite. Normally, my body is good and you’re in autopilot moving and your brain is like, ‘We’ll get there.’ This was the complete opposite and it scared the hell out of me because you see me grab the rope. Training sunk in because that saved me from possibly going through the ropes or hitting a rope on the way down. You even see me throw up the gang signs with my hands. I couldn’t move. My body wasn’t computing with my brain. ‘Oh shit, what are we doing? Okay, give me a second.’
Ref Alice, she was there and she was instantly the savior I needed. That’s why I asked for her for the match. I always ask for her in all my matches because she gets it. She listens to me. I call my audibles to her beforehand, and she knows to relay that. She’s good at her job. She proved she’s very professional at her job that night because she stepped in and knew something was wrong. I was coherently talking to her, ‘I’m good. Just give me a minute. It’s going to drop down, leap frog, drop down, elbow.’ Seeing me do that with the way I had deer legs probably would not have been entertaining to watch. I knew what was coming next, but my body said no. She called for the ‘X.'”
Maclin gave his thoughts about how TNA producer Ace Steel and TNA President Carlos Silva came out and thanked both of them for looking out to him and being voices of reason.
“The whiplash got me so much off and it drilled the side of my neck where the nerve is. Dangerous spot to get hit. Luckily, I didn’t have any problems after the scans and the concussion protocol I went through at the hospital.”
Maclin also gave his thoughts about him feeling upset for the fans because they had built the match so strong and he felt a good vibe with the crowd. Maclin also revealed that the match was originally scheduled to go 26 minutes in length.
“When you’re in there with friends, you lay it in there a little bit more. This was one of those freak moments where it was just a step off. He needed to be a step closer in the ring, and me coming off where I could step off the ropes with it. Timing is everything in wrestling, good or bad, and this was one of those bads moments, but also a good moment where it showed the proper way to handle, in 2026, when something like this happens.”
Maclin also gave his praise to Eddie Edwards for running out and giving the fans a little something for the match so that the show didn’t end on a full downer.
Maclin also stated that his head feels good but his neck is a little sore.
Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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