AEW’s Anthony Bowens talks LGBTQ+ representation in wrestling

Anthony Bowens has never done things quietly. As one half of The Acclaimed with Max Caster, he helped turn a brash, rule-breaking duo into one of the most popular tag teams in All Elite Wrestling. Titles followed. So did massive reactions and the now retired “scissor me” catchphrase that became an arena wide ritual. The success didn’t last. The Acclaimed split, and the fallout recently played out in a hillarious vignette on the streets of New York City.

Since early 2025, Bowens is now a solo wrestler. Louder. Sharper. Unapologetic. Openly LGBTQ+, he has embraced his current moniker as the Pride of AEW. In an industry with a long, messy history around queer representation, Bowens isn’t coded or coy.

On Wednesday, AEW is bringing its two biggest shows, “Dynamite” and “Collision,” to Arizona Financial Theatre. The broadcasts, collectively known as AEW Dynamite/Collision: Maximum Carnage, will feature major matches, advancing storylines and other spotlight moments.

Ahead of AEW’s stop in the Valley this week, Phoenix New Times spoke with Bowens about his recent history with Caster, what it means to be positioned as the Pride of AEW and LGBTQ+ representation in wrestling, both past with LGBTQ representation and why he believes the industry still has work to do.

Phoenix New Times: The recent vignettes of you and your former tag-team partner Max Caster being forced to bond by AEW owner Tony Khan have been hilarious. Was it all improv?
Anthony Bowens: So those videos are legit. Tony sends a camera and we try and do our team building. So everything you see is just us interacting as we would. And there’s nothing written, there’s no scripts. We’re just going out and experiencing life, trying to put the pieces back together; at least, Tony’s trying to get us doing that. So I think that’s probably why it comes off as so genuine and authentic — because it is.

Is stuff like that vignette-building you and Max reuniting and reforming The Acclaimed?
I mean, I can’t deny that we have a certain chemistry, considering our past success, but at this point, neither one of us want to be in a tag team, so we are fighting it as much as we can. Even in our moments where we disagree with each other, there’s chemistry as well. So it’s very hard to say. We both have singles aspirations. We feel like we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish in the tag-team division. So we don’t really feel like being together again is very necessary. But again, we were constantly reminded by Tony and the fans that chemistry remains and we should be back together. But I don’t really see that happening anytime soon, to be honest.

Is the jury still out on who’s the Jannetty and who’s the Michaels of the team? Or are you the Michaels?
I’m not even gonna throw insults or anything like that. Max and I, we’re both stars in our own way. People get so caught up with who’s better and who’s this. We both have our strengths and we both have our things that make us stars. There’s a reason why we’re on television. There’s a reason why we both became one of the most popular things in pro wrestling. That would happen if one of us couldn’t, you know, carry our weight. So I don’t think either one of us is a Jannetty. I think we’re both stars.

Can you explain your current moniker of “The Five-Tool Player”?
A five-tool player is a baseball term for a superstar. It means I possess all the tools necessary to be a star in professional wrestling. That’s where it comes from. It’s the perfect combination of power, athleticism, intelligence, the look and the X factor.

I’m also the Pride of Professional Wrestling. People seem confused that there are two different things to describe me, even though plenty of performers rattle off six or seven monikers every week and everyone understands that just fine. As the Pride of Professional Wrestling, I represent this business and this industry positively. I can’t understand why I’m not the face of the company after everything I do. I represent this place in Hollywood, in the influencer space, in modeling, in Major League Baseball, in sports media and local media. I do it all for this company.

Yet people cheer Hangman Adam Page after he burned down a coworker’s childhood home. They cheer Adam Cole after he spent a year dressing like a devil, attacking people, throwing me through a glass window and nearly ending my career. They cheer Max Caster, a guy they once hated and now chant is the best wrestler alive, while I’m the one driving this company and this industry forward. That’s why I’m the Pride of Professional Wrestling. And that’s why I’m a five-tool player. I do it all.

Your moniker as the Pride of AEW is really cool, especially with how openly out you are. As an ally and a longtime wrestling fan, I’m curious: Given pro wrestling’s often rocky history with LGBTQ+ representation, is it refreshing to see how far the industry has come over the past few decades?
Absolutely. It’s changed a lot, even since I started in 2012. The industry was very different then in terms of acceptance and allowing performers to be themselves. That was a big reason — not the only reason, but a big one — why I stayed in the closet longer. I didn’t know how coming out would affect my career.

It’s been really cool, and honestly an honor, to be one of the people helping move things forward. I think I’m the only openly gay male wrestler on national television, though I’m far from the only LGBTQ wrestler. There are plenty of LGBTQ performers across different companies and levels, and it’s great to see. Hopefully, I’m helping lead the charge in opening doors for more LGBTQ athletes and creating positive representation in professional wrestling.

Wrestling’s history with LGBTQ+ characters was often pretty problematic. Thirty years ago, characters like Goldust leaned heavily on gay panic as part of their presentation. Now, you’re getting full-throated support from the company. Does that kind of shift still feel remarkable to you?

Yeah, absolutely. I’m really glad AEW allows its performers to be themselves, whatever that looks like. That’s one of the biggest perks of working here, and one of the reasons I wanted to be here in the first place. When AEW was starting out, it was this new, groundbreaking company focused on younger talent.

When I first came in as an extra and was looking for a job, I saw LGBTQ performers just being themselves, people like Nyla Rose and Sonny Kiss, at the time. I felt comfortable right away. It felt like a place where I didn’t have to watch what I said, hide my personal life, or look over my shoulder. I’ve always felt supported by the office and my coworkers. I can talk openly about my life, and no one thinks twice about it. That’s a huge change, and it shows how far the industry has come.

AEW Dynamite/Collision: Maximum Carnage. 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 14, Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W. Washington St. Tickets are $34.25 to $211.20.