"They can't stop talking about us" - AEW star Anthony Bowens talks about the rising popularity of The Acclaimed
AEW star Anthony Bowens discussed how fans were starting to gravitate towards him and Max Caster in The Acclaimed.
The duo first teamed together on the October 27, 2020, edition of AEW Dark and were signed to a contract in November. Since then, they've been rapping in their opening segments and matches, often insulting the venue of the show or their opponents in the ring. Interestingly, this has led to a rise in the group's popularity despite being heel.
In his appearance on Phil Strum's Under the Ring podcast, Bowens said that they had to work hard to be noticed since people hated them at first.
"With us, like I said, we didn’t team together so we had to figure out all that stuff in front of a live audience every single week and people hated us. That’s what ‘everyone loves The Acclaimed’ came from was, you know, I try not to look at social media feedback because Twitter, like people like to say is not a real place. But I couldn’t help it because it was so overwhelmingly negative when we first signed, like, ‘Who are these people?’ Blah, blah, blah and I would see these things and my first thought was what would a delusional heel in this sense think?" Bowens said.
The Acclaimed then used the negative fan reaction in their own favor. No matter how much the audience booed them, the heel duo kept saying that the crowd actually 'loves' them. Bowens believes that since they kept saying it over and over again, it eventually came true and the duo became popular.
"And I go, oh, deep down, everyone loves The Acclaimed. They can’t stop talking about us so they love us somehow so I would obnoxiously just keep saying it over and over and over again and it stuck and now it’s the truth." [H/T Post Wrestling]
youtu.be/YIjhns5pqw4#TheAcclaimed have ARRIVED here at #AEWDark! Tune in here for the MAIN EVENT! ▶️ youtu.be/YIjhns5pqw4 https://t.co/NePnTXPwDY
Bowens is currently sidelined with a knee injury he reportedly suffered in March. While still recovering, he regularly accompanies Caster in his singles matches.
Acclaimed member Max Caster was in action on AEW Dark
As usual, Anthony Bowens accompanied Max Caster on the latter's recent appearance on AEW Dark. The Platinum teamed up with Andrade Family Office's Angelico, The Blade, and Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen). They squared off against Frankie Kazarian, The Hardys (Matt and Jeff), and Top Flight (Dante and Darius Martin).
During the match, Caster suffered a shotgun dropkick from Dante, but Quen tried to capitalize with a roll-up for a near fall.
And the Swanton Bomb by @JEFFHARDYBRAND scores the victory for the team of @MATTHARDYBRAND, @TopFlight612 and @FrankieKazarian in this 10-Man Tag main event of #AEWDark! If you've missed the episode, head over to our YouTube channel to catch up! ▶️ youtu.be/YIjhns5pqw4 https://t.co/7V6NORnqLL
In the end, Quen was on the receiving end of a Brainbuster, Twist of Fate, and Swanton Bomb.
The Acclaimed is gaining some positive reactions from AEW fans due to their rapping skills. It will be interesting to see where it will lead them, especially when Bowens returns from his injury.
What are your thoughts on the rising popularity of The Acclaimed? Sound off in the comments below.