JCup's Blog

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 AE...

600 × 338 600 × 338 I t's time for Part II in my #DEEPDIVE series examining every single WWE-to-AEW jump throughout the past 7+ years. Part I focused on three Day1 hires: PAC, Chris Jericho, & Dustin Rhodes, all still part of the All Elite Wrestling/Ring of Honor families. I determined that all 3 were worthy hires, though not without their Fed warts that pop up from time to time (particularly with Jericho and Rhodes).  So, what does Part II entail? We're going to look at two superstars who departed the comfortable confines of the World Wrestling Entertainment to enter the new and exciting AEW. Let's jump right into it:

All Elite Wrestling founder and CEO Tony Khan has assembled one of the greatest talent rosters in the history of weekly professional wrestling television.  It may look dramatically different as Khan attempts to stay the course heading into 2027, one of the more crucial years of AEW's existence. The current Paramount-WBD merger appears to be on hold, and it's difficult to get an accurate read on the prospects of it being approved. Khan has been shouting from the rooftops about all the potential benefits his promotion may reap if the merger goes through, often citing his relationship with Paramount's head honcho, David Ellison (please keep better company, Tony). But that's a discussion for another day, and I'm going to approach the rest of this article with the assumption the merger goes through. Khan has a chance to entirely reshape his roster, as several wrestlers have officially hit free agency following their releases from AEW's rival, World Wrestling Entertai...