Anthony Bowens wants LGBTQ+ representation to be better in the wrestling business.
Bowens and his tag team partner, Max Caster, have become two of the most over babyfaces in AEW. Collectively known as The Acclaimed, the fan-favorite duo won crowds over with their passion and their scissoring taunt.
In an interview with Haley for Nerds & Beyond, Bowens discussed representing AEW and his hope to do so across various avenues of entertainment.
“I take representing the company as a badge of honor in all kinds of fields,” Bowens said. “I want to represent AEW in all assets of entertainment, you know? Not just in the ring, but outside the ring as well. I want to bring more eyes to the company so they can see how diverse our roster is, how fun the shows are.
“So that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do for wherever I landed. And I want to make sure that the whole world knows what AEW is, how inclusive they are, and how fun professional wrestling can be.”
As Bowens noted, AEW has a diverse roster. He became the company’s first Black gay male champion in 2022, and both Nyla Rose and Toni Storm have been openly LGBTQ+ champions.
“I think companies should be working towards better,” Bowens said. “For me, I’d want to present it the right way, considering how things were presented in the past which was presented terribly. So I’m actively trying to figure out what would be a good story to tell; what would be the right way to go.
“Because, again, if we are going to do it the right way, we’ve got to make sure that we are doing it the right way. It will be under a microscope because people want to see how this goes, how it plays out, how the story’s written. So there’s a delicacy to it too. It hasn’t really been done correctly before. So that’s something that I would like to probably do in the future.”
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