AEW Revolution 2023: How The Acclaimed became pro wrestling’s hottest act
Three years ago, Anthony Bowens and Max Caster were just two singles wrestlers struggling in the independent scene, waiting for an opportunity.
Four years ago, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) didn’t even exist and the pro wrestling business was a complete monopoly in the hands of WWE.
Now fast forward to March 2023 – AEW is the second largest promotion in the world, Bowens and Caster have formed a dynamic tag team and are former champions, and both the company and the cast are firing on all cylinders.
The Acclaimed went on to become the hottest act in the company, garnering a surge of support for their entertaining matches, riveting promos, scathing pre-match raps and the “scissor” movement that propelled them into the company’s biggest merchandise sellers the devoted AEW fanbase.
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Just days away from AEW Revolution in San Francisco, Bowens admitted in an interview The sports news that an eight-month roller coaster ride has forced him to reflect on his accomplishments for perhaps the first time in his pro career.
“Traditionally, I didn’t have time to think because everything happens so quickly,” he said.
“It was very hard to let all of that sink in, but now that we don’t have them [the tag team titles] I can’t tell the difference anymore – I took a moment to stop and see how special 2022 was.
“We did all of these things in six months – for the first five months of 2022 we were trying to figure out how to get to where we are now? How do we get into the cover photo? How do we get on TV? every week?
“I think what we’ve done in six months and also over the course of two years, becoming a team that was put together from two singles… trying to figure out who and what we are as soon as possible in two years at the top Being in the wrestling world feels pretty good.
“I’m proud of what Max and I have done and I will be very proud of what we have accomplished by the end of 2023 because we have a lot of cool stuff ahead of us.”
Bowens stood out on the independents with his crisp work in the ring, edgy good looks and previous athletic experience as a college baseball player, making him the perfect fit for the industry.
The 32-year-old honed his craft in the New Jersey area under the tutelage of Pat Buck and after signing with AEW in November 2020, Bowens has not looked back and continues to go from strength to strength.
A horrendous series of injuries saw Bowens improve his work outside the ring, growing in confidence with the mic in hand while impressing fans and AEW boss Tony Khan in the process.
Caster was also forced to up his game in the ring as his tag partner was out – but Bowens always knew the pair had the ability to showcase their all-around skills.
“We saw that a lot – ‘this guy is the talker, this guy is the wrestler’ and we always hated that – we knew that was the case and we just needed the opportunity to show it,” he said The sports news.
“Now that we have the trust of the company, we can do a 12-minute talk segment where we can show that we can both talk, or we can have a pay-per-view match and we can wrestle for 20 minutes and show that we can go with almost everyone on the list.
“It was a bit frustrating at first – things have a bigger picture and you have to give the performer at least a couple of chances to do all those things before you start making judgments.
“Max and I are starting to make people understand that we’re versatile artists and we can do anything.
“We can talk, we can wrestle, we can do literally anything – every requirement that it takes to be a successful professional wrestler, we have that ability and we have that talent.”
Bowens and Caster were fortunate to team up with WWE Legend Billy Gunn, who is considered one of the greatest tag team wrestlers in history, both on and off screen.
The pair also sat under the learning tree of former AEW World Champion CM Punk, who remains sidelined through injuries and after an ugly backstage brawl with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks last September.
Bowens believes both members of The Acclaimed have benefited from a wealth of experience in the dressing room.
“We have an infinite amount of knowledge behind the scenes, and of course we’ve had a lot of help from Billy,” Bowens said.
“Billy is a great mentor to us and has been developing strategy and the best way to go about things – ‘Daddy Ass’ was really pivotal for The Acclaimed.
“I’d like to think that as much as we learn every day, we kind of know what we’re doing.
“Punk was always helpful to Max and I – he always made time to talk to us, especially when he first walked in. He always made sure he was there if we had a question.
“I can’t comment on the other things, it’s none of my business and I wasn’t there and I have no opinion.”
The Acclaimed will be part of a massive four-way match for the AEW Tag Team Titles at Sunday’s pay-per-view event as they attempt to reclaim their titles from The Gunn Club – affectionately known within AEW as ” Ass Boys”.
The other teams in the match – Jeff Jarret/Jay Lethal and Orange Cassidy/Danhausen – will add to the unpredictability and energy in the Chase Center ring.
Bowens is eager to become a two-time champion with the company alongside Caster, but knows they have so much more to achieve in AEW.
“I miss those titles and Max and I will fight to do whatever it takes to make sure we get those titles back and eliminate the Ass Boys,” he said The sports news.
“Every pay-per-view is a massive event and a massive spectacle – I love San Francisco, it’s one of my favorite cities in the whole world. It’s an exciting show and we can’t wait to get in front of the crowd.
“Missing having that gold around my waist is even more motivation for us to do it again this Sunday and make The Acclaimed a two-time AEW Tag Team Champion
.
“Max and I never want to settle for anything. We always want to get better, we never want to stagnate and we promised each other that no matter what we achieve, we will always go full throttle and give everything we can.
“We want to make sure we’re the most successful tag team in professional wrestling history.”
AEW Revolution will be broadcast live on Bleacher Report Live in the US and on FITE.TV and DAZN internationally.
When does AEW Revolution 2023 start?
- Date: Sunday March 5 | Monday, March 6th
- Buy in: 7 p.m. ET | 12pm GMT | 11 a.m. AEDT (Monday)
- Main card: 8 p.m. ET | 1 am GMT | 12 p.m. AEDT (Monday)
AEW Revolution 2023 takes place on Sunday March 5th. The main card will air at 8:00 p.m. ET | aired 1am GMT | 12:00 p.m. AEDT, and the buy-in pre-show is at 7:00 p.m. ET | 12pm GMT | 11 a.m. AEDT.