Stephen Kupryk was born on May 26, 1987, in New Jersey. After personally witnessing the events of September 11, 2001, from a parking lot in New Jersey as a freshman in high school, he vowed to serve his country. In 2007, he joined the Marine Corps and served as a machine gunner on two deployments to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment.
After completing his enlistment in 2011, Kupryk pursued a passion for wrestling, seeking training at the Monster Factory in New Jersey, where notable wrestlers such as “The Big Show” and “Sheamus” and many others trained. He gained national recognition in the wrestling world as “Steve Cutler” in WWE, where he was a member of the faction, “The Forgotten Sons.” That’s also when he got involved with Hire Our Heroes USA, a nonprofit organization that helps Veterans find employment after their military service.
Kupryk later joined Impact, where he wrestled under the name “Steve Maclin,” and won the Impact Heavyweight Championship on March 2023. Kupryk’s wife, Deonna Purrazzo, also a wrestler, won the Impact Knockouts World Championship on the same night.
VA’s official podcast, Borne the Battle, spoke with Kupryk on episode 214 and again in 264.
We honor his service.
Nominate a Veteran
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s “Honoring Veterans” social media spotlight is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission
A portion of this story was generated by AI. None of the data we reported included personal or sensitive information, and it was fact-checked and edited by a human copy editor prior to publishing.
Topics in this story
Link Disclaimer
This page includes links to other websites outside our control and jurisdiction. VA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-VA Web sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy or terms and conditions of those sites to fully understand what information is collected and how it is used.
Statement of Endorsement
Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
More Stories
In honor of National Park Service's National Park Week, this week's Honoring Veterans spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Michael Trevino, who today works as a facility manager at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Navy Veteran Ken Mattingly, who served as a pilot during the 1950s and later became an astronaut during the Apollo missions.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Air Force Veteran Gavino Cavazos, who served from 1949 to 1973 during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
