The Acclaimed is one of the top heel teams in AEW looking to reach the top of the mountain. AEW putting together Anthony Bowens and Max Caster saw them forming chemistry and making the most of their biggest opportunities. The tag run sees them developing more chemistry each time they have a television match.

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Both wrestlers had unique backstories trying to make it in the wrestling business. AEW will see them likely growing even more due to their young ages, but they’ve already made an impact. Caster is known for his talking with the pre-match freestyle raps. Bowens is considered the workhorse between the two in the ring. Fans of The Acclaimed will learn more here about the wrestlers behind the thriving tag team.

8 Caster Debuted In AEW With Other Partners

Luther Serpentico AEW

AEW didn’t always know that Max Caster and Anthony Bowens would be a tag team for them when trying each wrestler out. The Dark show is typically used to enhance the win/loss records for talents they want to push while giving new wrestlers a chance to stand out.

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Caster made his debut in a tag team match with partners other than Bowens. AEW teamed Caster with Luther and Serpentico against the trio of Jurassic Express in a losing effort. Caster returned a few months later with Bowens as AEW placed them together moving forward.

7 Santino Influenced Bowens To Become A Wrestler

Santino Marella WWE Cobra

Everyone has a different journey into the wrestling business, and Anthony Bowens showed how random it can be. Santino Marella discovered Bowens and asked if he had any interest in professional wrestling since he had a good look and athleticism.

The fandom of wrestling by Bowens led to him chasing the dream and trained with Pat Buck. Santino’s history as a comedy wrestler made him a huge hit, but he clearly was smart enough to see a future talent when spotting Bowens.

6 Caster's Dad Was In The NFL

Rich Caster

Many wrestlers had backgrounds playing in the NFL because football was their first dream. However, Max Caster has a more unique tale of his parent being in the NFL rather than him. Rich Caster is the father of Max and was a wide receiver and tight end in the NFL.

The football career of Rich lasted over a decade with most of his time coming with the New York Jets franchise. Max changed the family sports legacy by chasing the wrestling dream and landing a television contract with a major promotion.

5 Bowens Suffered A Concussion In NXT

Authors Of Pain Max Caster

Anthony Bowens was one of many independent wrestlers to get smaller roles in WWE from tryouts to enhancement matches. The most noteworthy match from Bowens’ flirting with WWE came on the NXT brand in a tag match against Authors of Pain.

Bowens believed that it would be his big break, but it didn’t amount to anything else. A concussion was suffered by Bowens during the match to make it even more heartbreaking to not get called back. Bowens revealed WWE reached out with an NXT deal when he was going to sign with AEW, but they couldn’t convince him to take the offer.

4 AEW Wrestlers Supported Caster's Rap Show

Max Caster Concert

Wrestling has a history of talents trying their luck at legitimate musical careers, and Max Caster appears to be next on the list. The freestyle raps from Caster before matches led to him performing original songs during a concert in Minnesota towards the end of 2021.

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Caster scheduled it for the weekend of Full Gear to take advantage of having more fans in town for the event. Various AEW wrestlers attended the show and posted footage on social media. Austin Gunn did his own rapping as an aspiring rapper and Anthony Bowens cut a promo in support of his tag partner.

3 Tony Khan Was Livid About Controversial Caster Rap

Max Caster Entrance

The biggest controversy of Max Caster’s career came when a freestyle rap led to Tony Khan publicly showing his displeasure. Khan called Caster’s rap “terrible” when he was under fire for making sexual comments about 19-year-old Julia Hart and mocked the mental health of Simone Biles.

Caster was off television for about a month with the assumption that he was suspended. Khan made it clear that he didn’t endorse that rap and that it should have been removed from the taped show. This put Caster on thin ice before his return.

2 Bowens Dealt With Homophobia At Shows

Anthony Bowens Boyfriend

Anthony Bowens is one of the few openly gay wrestlers during his time in the wrestling business. The current relationship with Bowens sees him going public with his boyfriend on social media, but he has sadly dealt with low-brow hate from some fans.

Bowens has replied to hateful messages on social media and even dealt with it at live shows. There was a recent instance of a fan yelling something homophobic during a match with The Acclaimed. Bowens responded by posting a picture kissing his boyfriend and revealing he is vocal about his sexual orientation to stand against people like that.

1 Caster Trained With MJF

MJF AEW

The background of Max Caster saw him training at the same wrestling school as MJF. Caster picked Create A Pro school in Long Island run by Pat Buck and Curt Hawkins. MJF was in the class when Caster signed up, and they worked closely together.

Caster often trolls MJF on Twitter with overly loving messages as a way to combat MJF’s mean social media presence. Their background saw them as the standouts in the same wrestling school class and each man found their way to AEW.