Anthony Bowens Says Everything After AEW Acclaimed Run Happened How It Was Supposed To

To the naked eye, Anthony Bowens' single run after the breakup of The Acclaimed in early 2025 could've gone a lot better, with Bowens quickly flaming out as a babyface, and seemingly turning heel as Caster turned babyface, before he and Caster reluctantly reunited as a team. But according to Bowens, that isn't what happened at all. In an interview with "Michael Fairman," Bowens revealed that the way things played out was actually the way AEW designed it.

"They think the return was a flop, which it wasn't," Bowens said. "It was made to be that way so I could go off the deep end, blame Billy for my not being able to win the big matches, blame the fans for choosing Caster over me, adding to his delusion of being the best wrestler alive. And then I would go into what the Pride of Pro Wrestling was."

Bowens talked about how the "Pride of Pro Wrestling" character was motivated by trying to get his flowers, and feeling like he had been overlooked by fans for both his work in the ring and outside the ring. While he did concede that things didn't entirely progress the way he wanted, he affirmed that the initial direction that played out was the plan. Interestingly enough, Bowens also brought up his AEW direction prior to becoming a free agent, suggesting perhaps that his time in AEW wasn't yet done.

"It was a lot of, like, real emotions balled up," Bowens said. "And I was trying to bring it to screen. But you know, what happened happened. And you know, I don't like to dwell on anything. I'm with The Opps now, and hopefully...well I was with The Opps. We'll see how things work."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Michael Fairman Channel" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription