Anthony Bowens is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion and one-time and longest reigning AEW World Trios Champion as a former member of The Acclaimed.
Early life
Bowens was born in Nutley, New Jersey.
He attended Nutley High School and Montclair State University.
He played baseball "for eleven years",
including at Montclair State and Seton Hall University, playing two seasons each for the Pirates and Red Hawks.
He was discovered by professional wrestler
Santino Marella, who asked him whether he had ever thought about professional wrestling.
He went on to train under
Pat Buck.
Professional wrestling career
Early Career (2013–2016)
Bowens started NFL training in 2013 and made his professional wrestling debut in 2016.
On the December 21, 2016 episode of
WWE NXT, Bowens and John Ortagun faced The Authors of Pain (Akam and
Rezar) in a tag team match. Bowens suffered a concussion during the match when Ortagun was dropped onto Bowens' head.
Independent Wrestling (2016–2020)
Once back from Five months injury, Bowens Hard work process for tristate As
New Japan Pro-Wresting And New England independent Circuit promotions like
Beyond Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling while also making appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling.
He captured the wrestle pro Heavyweight Championship twice between 2016
and 2017.
On January 21, 2017, Bowens challenged
Drew McIntyre influence for the WCPW World Heavyweight Championship at Battle Club Pro's Fight Forever event,
which marked the first time the title had been defended outside of the UK.
All Elite Wrestling (2020–present)
The Acclaimed (2020–2025)
In November 2020, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) President
Tony Khan announced that Bowens, alongside
Max Caster, had been signed to a five-year contract with the promotion.
The announcement also stated that Bowens and Caster would compete as a tag team named
The Acclaimed, and went on to establish themselves as heels.
In May 2022, Bowens underwent knee surgery, sidelining him for several months.
During this time Bowens, still attended AEW shows and performed his regular promos, although did not wrestle and was using a wheelchair; Caster would subsequently team increasingly with
the Gunns, with whom they had forged an alliance.
Bowens returned from injury at the
Dynamite.
Their alliance with the Gunns broke down and turned into a rivalry in mid-2022, leading to a "Dumpster Match" in August 2022, which the Acclaimed won.
While Billy Gunn was initially caught between the two groups, his sons turned on him, having joined
Stokely Hathaway, leading to him becoming the Acclaimed's manager.
In the latter half of 2022, the Acclaimed entered a feud with tag team champions Swerve in our Glory (Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee). At All Out of that year the Acclaimed challenged for tag team championships, although Strickland and Lee retained.
After All Out, The Acclaimed turned face due to the favorable crowd reactions they would receive.
At the 2022 AEW Grand Slam, The Acclaimed won the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
Singles competition (2025–present)
On April 6 at Dynasty Zero Hour, Bowens defeated Caster in a
squash match.
On July 12 at All In, Bowens competed in the men's Casino Gauntlet match. which was won by
MJF.
On the July 26 episode of
Collision, Bowens began teasing a heel turn after assaulting Caster following their match, and had to be held back by Billy Gunn.
On the September 27 episode of
Collision, Bowens and Caster temporarily reunited to defeat The Swirl (
Blake Christian and Lee Johnson).
Bowens later quietly ended his partnership with Gunn as Gunn took time off to heal from a back injury.
For the rest of the year, Bowens and Caster would begin teasing a potential reunion and teamed up against various opponents.
Personal life
Bowens is openly gay.
He is a supporter of the San Francisco Giants, and previously worked in the production department of the
MLB Network studio.
Championships and accomplishments
-
All Elite Wrestling
-
Battle Club Pro
-
BCP Franchise Championship (1 time)
-
Independent Wrestling Federation
-
IWF Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
-
New York Post
-
Male Breakout Wrestler of the Year (2022)
-
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
-
Ranked No. 304 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2021
-
WrestlePro
-
WrestlePro Gold Championship (3 times)
-
Dream 16 Tournament (2019)
-
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
External links
