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WWE and AEW are the top destinations for free agents in the world of wrestling, with both companies having comparable pay. While the Stamford-based company offers more exposure to aspiring superstars, some, like Anthony Bowens, seem to prefer the spirit and attitude All Elite Wrestling embodies.
Anthony Bowens is one-half of The Acclaimed alongside Max Caster. He's a former AEW World Tag Team and Trios Champion and one of All Elite Wrestling's most successful home-grown stars. However, the 33-year-old almost signed with WWE during the pandemic era.
Bowens had competed on AEW DARK in September of 2020, but it took a while to hear back from the company following his match. In the meantime, he received an offer from WWE and even accepted it before finally speaking to Tony Khan.
Anthony Bowens opened up on why he chose the Jacksonville-based promotion in a recent appearance on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez:
"I had accepted an offer from the other place [WWE]," said Bowens. "They never sent the contract. I always wanted to be here [AEW], I just didn't know if there was interest. I never heard back after my first dark match I had, I tagged with Lee Johnson. But my heart was always, I wanted to be at AEW because I saw what kind of vibe they had when the company first started." [From 16:52 to 17:10]
Anthony Bowens was drawn to the support AEW's LGBTQ talent had
Anthony Bowens has been celebrated by the LGBTQ community as an openly gay wrestler. His success in the ring has brought him acclaim, but it was the representation and the chance to be himself that partially drew him to All Elite Wrestling in the first place.
In the same interview, Bowens revealed that he liked the vibe of Tony Khan's company, and when he saw Sonny Kiss and Nyla Rose being accepted as themselves, he knew that All Elite Wrestling was where he wanted to be:
"My first time I was at DARK, and I saw people like Sonny Kiss and Nyla Rose walking around being themselves and not feeling judged and feeling comfortable, and the way they presented LGBTQ talent made me feel more comfortable that I wanted to be here. So when I heard that Tony [Khan] was interested in talking to me, I'm like, 'Alright, well, I still haven't signed anything, so why not?'" [From 17:22 to 17:42]
Anthony was paired with Max Caster, and the two went on to find enormous success alongside Billy Gunn, becoming one of All Elite Wrestling's most popular tag teams. Bowens has also enjoyed singles success and recently vowed to become a Grand Slam Champion.
