Three years ago, Anthony Bowens and Max Caster were just two singles wrestlers grinding away on the independent scene and waiting for an opportunity.
Four years ago, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) didn't even exist yet and the pro wrestling business was a complete monopoly at the hands of WWE.
Now let's fast-forward to March 2023 - AEW is the second-biggest promotion in the world, Bowens and Caster have formed a dynamic tag team and are former champions, and both the company and the performers are firing on all cylinders.
The Acclaimed grew into the hottest act in the company, receiving a groundswell of support from the devoted AEW fanbase due to their entertaining matches, engaging promos, scathing pre-match raps and the 'scissor' movement that saw them become the company's biggest merchandise sellers.
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Just days out from AEW Revolution in San Francisco, Bowens admitted in an interview with The Sporting News that a rollercoaster eight months has forced him to reflect on his achievements for perhaps the first time in his professional career.
“Traditionally I haven’t had the time to reflect, because everything moves so quickly," he said.
"It’s been very hard to let that all sink in, but now that we don’t have them [the tag team titles] anymore, I recognise the difference – I kind of took a moment to stop and see how special 2022 was.
"We accomplished all of this stuff within six months – the first five months of 2022 was about us trying to figure out how do we get to the point we are now? How do we get into the title picture? How do we get on television every single week?
"I think what we’ve done in a matter of six months and over the course of two years too, becoming a team that was put together with two singles guys…trying to figure out who and what we were as quickly as possible, to becoming the top of the wrestling world in two years, it feels pretty good.
"I’m proud of what Max and I have done and I’m going to be very proud of what we’ve done by the end of 2023, because we have a lot of cool stuff coming up."
The 32-year-old honed his craft in the New Jersey area under the tutelage of Pat Buck and after signing with AEW in November 2020, Bowens hasn't looked back and continues to go from strength-to-strength.
A horror run of injuries saw Bowens improve his work outside of the ring, growing in confidence with the microphone in his hand and impressing both fans and AEW boss Tony Khan in the process.
Caster was also forced to up his game in the ring with his tag partner sidelined - but Bowens always knew the pair had the ability to showcase their all-round skills.
“We would see that a lot – ‘this guy is the talker, this guy is the wrestler’ and we always hated that - we knew this was the case and we just needed the opportunity to show it," he told The Sporting News.
"Now that we have the company’s trust, we can do a 12-minute talking segment where we can show we can both speak, or we have a pay-per-view match and we can wrestle for 20 minutes and show that we can go with just about anybody on the roster.
"It was a bit frustrating early on – there is a bigger picture to things and you’ve got to allow the performer the opportunity to do all of those things at least a few times before you start casting judgement.
“Max and I are starting to get people to understand that we are versatile performers and we can do anything.
"We can talk, we can wrestle, we can literally do it all – any requirement that is needed to be a successful professional wrestler, we have that skill and we have that talent."
Bowens and Caster have been lucky enough to form both an on-screen and off-screen combination with WWE legend Billy Gunn, who is regarded as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers in history.
The pair also sat under the learning tree of former AEW World Champion CM Punk, who remains sidelined due to both injury and following an ugly backstage brawl with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks last September.
Bowens believes the wealth of experience in the locker room has benefited both members of The Acclaimed.
“We have an infinite amount of knowledge backstage and we have had a tonne of help from of course Billy," Bowens said.
"Billy is a huge mentor to us and has created strategies and the best way to go about things - 'Daddy Ass’ really has been instrumental for The Acclaimed.
"I’d like to think that as much as we are learning every single day, we kind of know what we are doing as well.
“Punk was always helpful to Max and I - he always took the time to speak to us, especially when he first came in. He always made sure that if we had a question, he was there to answer.
"I can’t comment on any of the other stuff, it’s not my business and I wasn’t there and I don’t have an opinion on it."
The Acclaimed will be part of a massive four-way match for the AEW Tag Team Titles at Sunday's pay-per-view event, as they look to regain their titles from The Gunn Club - affectionately-known as the 'Ass Boys' within AEW.
The other teams in the match - Jeff Jarret/Jay Lethal and Orange Cassidy/Danhausen - will add to the unpredictability and energy in the ring at the Chase Center.
Bowens is eager to become two-time champions with the company alongside Caster, but knows they still have so much more to achieve in AEW.
"I do miss those titles and Max and I are going to fight to do everything we can make sure get those titles back and eliminate the Ass Boys," he told The Sporting News.
“Every pay-per-view is a massive event and a massive spectacle - I love San Francisco, it’s one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s an exciting show and we can’t get wait to get out there in front of the people.
“Missing having that gold around my waist is even more motivation for us to go out and get it again this Sunday and make The Acclaimed two-time AEW Tag Team Champions
“Max and I never want to settle for anything. We always want to get better, we never want to get stagnant and we made a promise to each other that no matter what we accomplish, we’re always going to be full-throttle and we’re going to go for everything that we can.
"We want to make sure that we are the most successful tag team in the history of professional wrestling."
When does AEW Revolution 2023 start?
- Date: Sunday, March 5 | Monday, March 6
- Buy-In: 7 p.m. ET | 12 a.m. GMT | 11 a.m. AEDT (Monday)
- Main card: 8 p.m. ET | 1 a.m. GMT | 12 p.m. AEDT (Monday)
AEW Revolution 2023 takes place on Sunday, March 5. The main card will air at 8 p.m. ET | 1 a.m. GMT | 12 p.m. AEDT, and the buy-in pre-show takes place at 7 p.m. ET | 12 a.m. GMT | 11 a.m. AEDT.
