AEW star discloses advice he received from Cody Rhodes on being 'edgy'
AEW's Max Caster recently unveiled the advice he received from Tony Khan and WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes.
Caster and Anthony Bowens are part of a tag team titled 'The Acclaimed.' The duo's rise to popularity was seemingly a happenstance of the former's impeccable rapping and rhyming skills. He has often cited WWE legend John Cena as his inspiration, who also had a similar rapping moniker in the early 2000s.
After nearly six years, The American Nightmare returned to WWE in April this year. He played a pivotal role during the inception and development of AEW over the last few years. Rhodes is currently sidelined from action due to a pectoral injury he suffered before his match against Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell 2022.
In a recent interaction with All Hip Hop TV, the 33-year-old talked about the concept of merging his rap talent with his gimmick. He stated that The American Nightmare suggested him to 'be edgy' with his on-screen character.
“From the start, Tony was like, ‘Oh, you’re a rapper? Keep rapping.’ I go, ‘Okay, great. And then we did the first [rap], and I got a little bit of feedback from Cody Rhodes, and he said, ‘Be edgy,’ and I said, ‘Okay, great. I’ll do that,’” said Caster. [H/T Wrestling Inc]
He further highlighted how The Acclaimed became popular due to his rapping skills.
“That’s really been my whole direction for my whole entire career: just rap and be edgy. That’s what we’ve done and I think it’s paid off because the Acclaimed is honestly the most popular tag team in AEW. The most popular homegrown team for sure,” added Caster. [H/T Wrestling Inc]
Check out the entire video below:
Ricky Starks congratulated Cody Rhodes on recent achievement
Cody Rhodes created a streak of defeating Seth Rollins at three consecutive premium live events after their first bout at WrestleMania 38. The 37-year-old recently won the ESPY 2022 WWE Moment of the Year award for his comeback at The Show of Shows in Texas.
Meanwhile, Rhodes' former colleague Ricky Starks took to Twitter to share a supportive message for the former TNT Champion.
"Espy! Keep it going @CodyRhodes."
Espy! Keep it going @CodyRhodes
Starks highlighted that he and The American Nightmare keep in touch despite the latter's departure from Tony Khan's promotion. The AEW star is currently feuding with his former tag team partner, Powerhouse Hobbs.
The former stablemates came face-to-face on last week's Dynamite, with Starks ending up on the receiving end of a vicious spinebuster.
Who do you think will emerge victorious in a clash between the former friends? Let us know in the comments section below.