Steve Maclin’s match with Adam Copeland at MLP Northern Rising was already loaded with personal significance before Deonna Purrazzo became part of the story. For Maclin, the chance to face a wrestler he admired as a child represented a full-circle milestone. The addition of Purrazzo, his wife, elevated the experience even further.
Maclin discussed Purrazzo’s involvement in the Northern Rising match and described the occasion as one that surpassed every championship and major in-ring accomplishment of his career. While the bout also featured involvement from Rhino, the appearance of Purrazzo carried a unique weight for Maclin because it marked a rare on-screen intersection between the married wrestlers.
“The first time we’ve ever been on screen together is Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling,” Maclin said, recalling an earlier segment in which Adam Copeland bailed him out of jail in Windsor when he had expected Purrazzo to pick him up. “It’s the first time we’ve ever shared the screen together and then here we are in a match together.”
A Long-Awaited On-Screen Moment
Maclin and Purrazzo have each built extensive resumes across major wrestling promotions, but their marriage has not routinely been presented as an active on-screen pairing. That made the MLP setting particularly notable. The Northern Rising encounter did not simply give the audience a surprise appearance; it placed Purrazzo inside a moment that was already deeply connected to Maclin’s history as a wrestling fan.
For more background on this topic, read Rohan Raja Says Maple Leaf Pro Made a Statement at Northern Rising.
Maclin revealed that Purrazzo’s role was not necessarily a foregone conclusion. There were multiple possibilities considered behind the scenes concerning who could become involved in the match. The goal, he explained, was to avoid setting an expectation that the promotion could not fulfill, leaving fans disappointed if a teased development never materialized.
That careful approach helped the eventual moment land as intended. Maclin felt that the presentation reached the emotional beat it needed to reach, while also potentially creating opportunities for additional business down the road.
“There was different things behind the scenes of who would be involved in this match and we didn’t want to let the crowd think that one thing was gonna happen, but it doesn’t happen and then to be disappointed,” Maclin said. “But I think we hit the moment the way we needed to.”
The match’s result and its surrounding chaos gave MLP a memorable attraction built around familiar Canadian wrestling names and personalities from multiple major stages. Copeland’s presence alone made the match a substantial draw, and Rhino’s involvement added another veteran with a long history alongside Copeland. Purrazzo’s appearance, however, gave Maclin’s side of the confrontation a more personal dimension.
Maclin Sees a Possible Mixed Tag Direction
While Maclin was focused on the meaning of Purrazzo being involved at Northern Rising, he also pointed to a potentially compelling direction should MLP revisit the conflict. Copeland’s wife, Beth Phoenix, has a storied career of her own and has previously stepped into wrestling storylines alongside Copeland.
Maclin suggested that the door could now be open for a mixed tag scenario involving Copeland and Phoenix against Maclin and Purrazzo. He did not present it as an announced match or confirmed plan. Instead, he characterized the concept as something that could be enjoyable if Phoenix were to become involved.
“I think the door is now open there as well if Beth wanted to get involved with Adam Copeland versus myself and my wife,” Maclin said. “I think that’s something that would be fun.”
A match of that nature would carry obvious appeal. Copeland and Phoenix are among wrestling’s most recognizable real-life couples, each with decorated careers and strong connections to generations of fans. Maclin and Purrazzo bring a different kind of chemistry: two contemporary performers whose individual careers have taken them through demanding championship-level environments, now potentially united in an angle that has yet to be extensively explored on screen.
For MLP, any continuation would also build from an established emotional foundation rather than simply assembling recognizable names. Northern Rising made clear that Maclin viewed the Copeland match as much more than a high-profile booking. It represented the realization of a childhood dream in front of a crowd that was fully engaged with the conflict.
More Than a Championship Moment
Maclin did not minimize the importance of the titles and accomplishments he has collected. Instead, he explained that the experience at Northern Rising occupied a different category. His wife being included in the match, and understanding precisely what the day meant to him, made it more meaningful than the biggest individual milestones on his resume.
“Just to have my wife a part of this match in this moment and she knew exactly how I felt all day,” Maclin said. “Again, I’m gonna be chasing that for a very, very long time in my career.”
He then made the scope of that feeling clear, saying the moment was “bigger than any championship” he has won. Maclin also compared it to another major emotional experience from the previous year’s Bound For Glory, when he had a moment involving his mother. In his view, the Northern Rising match went beyond even that.
That perspective speaks to the difference between professional success and a personal milestone. A title win can validate a wrestler’s place in a promotion or reward years of work. Sharing a key moment with a spouse while facing a childhood hero can touch an entirely different part of a performer’s life. For Maclin, those elements converged in Windsor.
His family’s reaction reinforced the point. Maclin said his parents watched the match while looking after the dogs, and his mother came away with a simple but meaningful assessment: “That’s my favorite match ever.”
Maclin noted that his mother does not watch a great deal of wrestling when he is involved, though she watches more of Purrazzo. Still, he believed she understood what the Copeland match represented to him beyond its action or storyline stakes.
From an Edge Figure to Adam Copeland Across the Ring
The most striking part of Maclin’s reflection was his recollection of childhood play. As a young fan, he used an Edge action figure as a stand-in for himself while playing with wrestling toys. Years later, he found himself in a ring with the man behind that character, Adam Copeland.
That is the kind of personal history that cannot be manufactured by a script. Copeland’s career as Edge influenced countless fans, particularly those who grew up during the height of his WWE run. For Maclin, the influence was direct and tangible. The wrestler he once used to imagine his own place in wrestling had become his opponent in a featured match.
“I think she understood every bit of me being a little kid and playing with my wrestling figures and using the Edge figure as me,” Maclin said. “Like I used him as me growing up. It’s just a full circle moment.”
The crowd reaction was another piece of the experience that stayed with him. Maclin described standing near the corner after leaving the ring during his entrance, with fans jeering him, using profanity, and flipping him off. Rather than letting that reaction distract him, he worked to stay inside the moment and absorb the unusual reality of the setting.
“I’m just sitting there trying to still be in the moment like they are of trying to soak in being there with Adam at that time,” Maclin said.
That reaction is a reminder of how wrestling’s emotional structure can serve multiple purposes at once. The audience was responding to Maclin as a character in the match, giving him the hostile treatment expected in that role. Yet, underneath that reaction, Maclin was also experiencing the scene as the wrestler who had worked his way from being a fan with action figures to standing opposite one of his heroes.
What Northern Rising Could Mean Going Forward
Maclin’s comments do not confirm that a follow-up involving Copeland, Phoenix, Purrazzo, and Maclin will happen. They do establish that he sees value in pursuing it. The Northern Rising match created a foundation for a continuation, particularly because Purrazzo’s involvement was meaningful enough to make the audience curious about whether this was a one-time appearance or the start of a broader MLP story.
For now, Maclin is holding onto the significance of what already happened. His match with Copeland gave him a chance to confront a foundational influence in his career. Purrazzo’s presence allowed him to share that occasion with the person closest to him. And his family was able to watch a moment that connected his childhood fandom with his present-day career.
In an industry measured by championships, headline matches, and landmark events, Maclin’s Northern Rising experience stood out because of its personal stakes. Whether or not the angle continues, he has made clear that the night in Windsor is one he expects to pursue emotionally for a very long time.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.