Thoughts on Anthony Bowens and his immediate future in AEW

Earlier this week, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Anthony Bowens' contract with All Elite Wrestling is set to expire next month. Bowens' former tag team partner, Max Caster, is also expected to hit free agency around this time. Bowens and Caster formed The Acclaimed in November 2020, a young, brash tag team with no prior experience in World Wrestling Entertainment. They were a breath of fresh air, and managed to get over with the AEW audience in short order. The duo reached their zenith after defeating Swerve In Our Glory to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Grand Slam. 

The news of Bowens' upcoming free agency naturally sparked debate on Wrestling Twitter: should Tony Khan look to retain Bowens and, if so, what on earth is he going to do with him? Bowens and Caster have been separated for a good while now - yes, The Acclaimed had run its course - though Bowens is the only one getting consistent television time; in fact, Caster's last AEW appearance was towards the end of last year. It appears Khan has made up his mind about Caster and his prospects in AEW.

Bowens has remained active and just competed in the opening contest of The Buy In pre-show preceding All In 2026, teaming with The Opps stablemates in a losing effort against Lio Rush & The Rascalz. If we read between the tea leaves, it seems reasonable to conclude that Khan is still interested in using Bowens and not Caster, who has brought controversy to AEW and himself with some of his raps on AEW programming. 

Bowens has tried to reinvent himself as "The Five Tool Player" and join The Opps, which has always felt like an unnatural fit. The Acclaimed were a goofy, occasionally comedic tag team with Bowens responsible for screaming, "SCISSOR ME, DADDY ASS!" Now, we're supposed to accept his presence in a group that's supposed to be comprised of legitimate wrestlers, shooters, and technicians? What does "The Five Tool Player" even tell us about Bowens? It's too generic and, frankly, doesn't carry much weight compared to other AEW talent who still struggle to earn consistent television time. 

Bowens is clearly talented, but raw talent isn't always enough in the hyper-competitive AEW. Something is missing despite Bowens' evident talent. 

I could see Caster and Bowens reforming a sanitized version of The Acclaimed in WWE, though the company is notoriously awful at booking tag team wrestling. They're still young enough with an act that seems tailor-made for WWE's Disney-Adult-like audience. It's an audience that doesn't react to professional wrestling, but genuinely loves to chant and sing along with WWE performers, and screaming something akin to, "SCISSOR ME, DADDY ASS!" seems right up their alley. 

This likely would have happened in 2019; however, we are in the TKO-controlled era of WWE where the only thing that matters is record profitability. This is a dangerous place to work for someone like Caster and especially Bowens. 

The duo only have to look at their former AEW colleagues, Ricky Saints. The former AEW malcontent finally achieved his dream of calling WWE home in November 2025, and now finds himself at the very bottom of the main roster totem pole. Saints had one run apiece with the NXT and NXT North American Championships, and hasn't come close to sniffing main roster gold. Saints feels like a natural name for TKO to add to its kill list, and that's not because of a lack of talent on Saints' end, but to satisfy the insatiable greed of executives. 

If someone like Saints or Blake Monroe finds themselves struggling to get opportunities on the main roster, that should give someone like Bowens and Caster pause. Saints was an established upper midcarder in AEW, while Monroe was a former Women's World Champion and a featured player in one of the most heated feuds with Toni Storm in recent wrestling history. Now, it wouldn't be much of a shock if they were let go in the name of record profitability. 

None of that matters to WWE, and even less so for the suits at TKO who have shown to have little respect for pro wrestling to begin with. Instead, the duo would likely have a year+ long run in NXT - which looks like utter dogshit based off the little that comes across my Twitter timeline - and would hope for the best on the main roster despite the knowledge of how TKO/WWE treat their talent. 

It's become evident since the TKO takeover that nearly all wrestlers are expendable. This is a company that asked The New Day to accept a pay cut OVER 50%. Sheamus departed for similar reasons. Ilja Dragunov is one of the better wrestlers in the world and declined to re-sign with the company. Unconfirmed reports suggest significant WWE talent agreed to pay decreases, helping TKO suppress wages. Bowens has been a performer across Warner Media Discovery platforms for 6 years and should command decent money; however, it's hard to be confident TKO would offer it, and if they did, Bowens would still be a candidate for release given the price tag of his contract.

Bowens is also openly gay and has been a great ambassador for queer representation in pro wrestling, something that will most surely end after signing with WWE. TKO/WWE have established a comfortable relationship with the Trump Administration, and Big Nose is often photographed alongside RFK Jr. There's also WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia, a nation responsibile for henious human rights violations against their own people, partcularly those who are gay (or just accused of being gay). Could Bowens even wrestle in Saudi Arabia even if he wanted to? 

There's also the question of whether Bowens should even want to rehash a tag team with Caster. I don't know a thing about their personal relationship, but let's assume the pair are on good terms: do you really want to do a Disneyfied version of a 6-year-old act? Will that bring you creative fulfillment? There's also the unpredictablity - perhaps immaturity - of Caster, who has gotten himself in hot water during his AEW tenure, and I'm curious if that would factor at all into Bowens plans. 

Bowens could stay with AEW, though I don't know where I'd slot him. I would remove him from The Opps, as he just doesn't fit. I wouldn't reunite him with Caster because I think The Acclaimed always had a short expiration date. It's genuinely a shame that Ring of Honor has failed to secure a television rights deal, because it would be the perfect place to experiment with Bowens' persona. 

I assume he could work for any of AEW's partners like New Japan, CMLL, and/or MLP, but I'm unsure of their pay scales (or whether he's much of a fit for them at all); still, I think he should stay. It's clear Khan likes him and seems open to using him as his end date approaches. Perhaps Bowens would benefit from a prolonged absence from television, only to return one day with an updated persona, though that's certainly easier said than done. 

I do hope Bowens considers it, however, because I don't think WWE is a great fit for him at all. We'll see.