AEW Dynamite returns to the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday, January 11th, and the World Tag Team Champions of All Elite Wrestling, The Acclaimed, will definitely be scissoring the fans as part of the event.
The Acclaimed, Anthony Bowens and "Platinum" Max Caster, along with Daddy Ass, have been fighting champions since winning the Tag Team Titles at AEW Grand Slam in September. They've turned back challengers like Swerve In Our Glory and FTR, and last week, they defeated Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal twice, including winning a wild, no-holds-barred brawl at Battle of the Belts V.
Screen Rant had the pleasure of chatting with Anthony Bowens, who lives in Los Angeles, and he previewed what fans can expect to see in AEW Dynamite's return to LA for the first time in 2023. Bowens also described what it was like to win the AEW Tag Team Championship, The Acclaimed's plans for 2023, Bowens' love for The Last of Us video game, and his anticipation of HBO's TV series.
Anthony Bowens Previews AEW Dynamite In Los Angeles
Screen Rant: Congrats on two back-to-back title defenses against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. They were wars!
Anthony Bowens: Yeah, they were battles. And they were heated battles for a reason because it got a little personal the week before. For those who weren't aware, our music video had a line in there that kind of stirred a bit of the pot in the Jeff Jarrett camp. And things got a bit crazy, so there was a lot of real emotion in there in the ring. And I'm glad we were able to pull out two wins.
Two convincing wins. I assume The Acclaimed is done with Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal now?
Anthony Bowens: I hope we're done. I'm tired of beating their ass every single night. (laughs)
What was it like for you being in the middle of that crazy stuff with Jeff Jarrett, Karen Angle, and Max?
Anthony Bowens: I mean, I think a lot of what makes wrestling very exciting is storylines, and when you're able to step outside of a storyline and have, like I said before, the raw emotions of chaos going on. That really draws so much interest from everybody involved, including us. It amped me up. I couldn't wait to get out there and beat the crap out of him.
I don't know if you've heard his podcast. On his My World podcast, he said some pretty crappy things about [Max] Caster's family on that, and where we train, etc. So, you know, a lot of it was just [us] out for vengeance. And also, we're the Tag Team Champions, so we got to make sure that we're defending and keeping our titles. We are the Forever Champs, we've gotta live up to our word. So there's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot of things going on. But again, we had two very strong wins to start off 2023. Which Max and Billy and I are very, very happy with.
We're here to talk about AEW Dynamite in Los Angeles on Wednesday at the fabulous Kia Forum, as Excalibur says. Now, you live in LA along with some others, like Jungle Boy Jack Perry. What's it like performing in front of the LA crowd? What makes them different?
Anthony Bowens: They were crazy. Last year at the Forum, I didn't even get to really experience being in the ring. I was hurt then. I was in the wheelchair. That was when we were first starting to bond with the Gunn Club and Daddy Ass. From what I , at least from our entrance when I was screaming at the top of my lungs, they were loud. They were ionate. And they were just very excited to have AEW wrestling there for the first time. And now we return again for the second time. And then we have a loaded, loaded show. [The Acclaimed] will be a part of the festivities in a way which I can't reveal yet. We have something very fun planned. I'm just really excited to get out there.
Every week, it's just been so much fun to go to work. And especially when we get into these big arenas like the Kia Forum. The energy there is electric and the people are very excited. Everywhere you look, there's scissors, there's foam fingers, there are all these creative signs that we appreciate so much. The fact that people are taking the time, the night before [or] whenever, taking hours to craft these custom scissors that they make. It's absolutely incredible. It's really cool to see, and I can't wait to get out there.
I feel like you guys also have really moved it moves to the next level in of the creativity you guys are allowed, with the rap videos and all these other things. What's that been like to really just take The Acclaimed, and the scissoring, and just doing it as creative as you can be?
Anthony Bowens: Well, our creativity has been there from the get-go. They allowed us to create, and they allowed us to try a bunch of things. You just hadn't seen it. Because now we are presented a lot more frequently on AEW television, so people are seeing the cool things that we're doing. But we've been doing a lot of these things since the very, very beginning, starting with The Young Bucks, from music videos to skits. So we do have a lot more stuff, a lot more fun stuff, up our sleeve that we haven't even scratched the surface [of] yet. It's really fun to be at a job where we can create and then all these millions of people can enjoy it.
The last time we spoke was right before AEW All Out back in September, and The Acclaimed hadn't become Tag Team Champions yet. Can you take me back to those two matches with Swerve In Our Glory in Chicago and Grand Slam in New York, and that the journey to the titles?
Anthony Bowens: It was wild, it was a very, very wild time. Going into All Out, Max and I knew we had a big opportunity to go out there and really show what we can do, especially on our biggest pay-per-view the year, at All Out in Chicago. And a lot of people were like, "Why is this match even on the card? Bah bah bah bah." Complaining about things. And we knew, once we got out there, we were going to do something special. Did we know it would get as crazy as it did? No, honestly, no.
We got out there, and they started singing, "Oh, Scissor Me, Daddy!" for the first time, and I think there's even a point in the match where I'm trying to wrestle Swerve down to the mat, and the both of us, momentarily, our differences dissipated. And we looked up [and were like], "What the hell is happening?" And then I went, "Oh, I gotta beat this guy up again." So went back at it and the crowd was absolutely insane. And I think that Chicago crowd and our performance really put us over the top in of perception with the fans that we are fantastic professional wrestlers. I think we had built up this whole thing of The Acclaimed as really fun "entertainers," or whatever you want to call it, but we are very, very, very good elite, professional wrestlers. And we were able to prove that.
And then we follow it up two weeks later in New York City at Grand Slam winning the AEW Tag Team Titles. Which was a moment I'll never forget, because I got to have my friends and my family there. I got to win in the state over from my home state, New Jersey. As I'm getting my hand raised and look up, I see my dad cheering on the crowd. All very, very special, that I'll never forget. It changed our lives drastically. Because we were always saying we were the best tag team in the world. We believed it, and you can see it every single week. We are the best tag team alive.
Did you feel pressure after the way your match stole the show at All Out to try to live up to it at Grand Slam? How did you approach that match?
Anthony Bowens: No, we don't try to add put any extra pressure on ourselves. We go out there every single week, we want to entertain you, we want to have fun, and we also want to kick ass. It was impossible to have to be negative in any kind of way, or think that there's this massive pressure on us. We felt like you're going to war, and we had 20,000 people, and millions of people at home, right there behind us. It's impossible to have any kind of weird feelings with that amount of behind you. Just straight up 100% confidence.
No one can say The Acclaimed aren't fighting champions. Now, you've beaten Swerve In Our Glory, you've beaten FTR, Jarrett and Lethal. Who's been your toughest defense, and what's been your favorite defense?
Anthony Bowens: Well, honestly, the match that we just had [vs. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal at Battle of the Belts V] was one of my favorites. It was very tough. They threw everything they could at us, but we overcame. I think the FTR match was something special to Max and I because we always set them as a barometer of what we need to get to in of tag team wrestling. Because they're one of the best to do it. They're solid in every facet of their game.
We always figured that they would be our ultimate test, and the fact that we were able to pull out a win and show that we are the better team is absolutely fantastic. And also to hear that Dax [Harwood] had some sort of pretty kind words for us on this podcast this past week, and that meant a lot. I know they weren't satisfied with what happened because we won, so hopefully that they come back, and we're able to run that back again because I'd love to fight FTR one more time and prove to them that The Acclaimed [are the best.]
2023 has just started, and you start the year as Tag Team Champions. What are your plans for the year? Is there a team out there that you're looking at that you want to face?
Anthony Bowens: We welcome any team from any organization. Forbidden Door, AEW, it does not matter. Come challenge and fight the Forever Champs. Fight The Acclaimed. We want to show that we're the best in the world and [we] continue to prove that every single week. We have the of Billy Gunn, and Daddy Ass has been key to our strategies every single week, to making sure that we're prepared going into these matches. So I think we have all of our bases covered. We're confident, we've got one of the best tag team wrestlers of all time in our corner, we have people scissoring with us every single week. We are ready for any challengers.
Let's talk a little bit about AEW Dynamite this week. As you said, it is a loaded card. I was hoping to pick your brain a little bit and preview some of the big matches announced. The finals of the best-of-seven series between Death Triangle and The Elite ladder match for the Trios Titles. What have you thought of the series? And who do you think will win the seventh match?
Anthony Bowens: That whole series has been mind-boggling. (laughs) What these men have been doing to their bodies and to each other has been absolutely insane. I don't know who to pick. They're both so solid, they're both so talented. We've been in the ring with all of them, actually. Except for Kenny [Omega]. I've never been in the ring with [him]. But I don't know, it's hard. The Elite always figure out a way to pull through. So I feel like The Elite might pull it out.
Wow. Now, whoever doesn't win the Trios Titles, are you looking at them as possibly coming after your World Tag Team Titles?
Anthony Bowens: Who knows? And again, we welcome everybody. [If] people want to switch back over to the tag team division and challenge us? Bring it!
There's a huge women's match on Dynamite: [AEW Women's World Champion] Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker against Saraya and Toni Storm. What are your thoughts on that one?
Anthony Bowens: I think Hayter has been on fire, and I'm a big er of Jamie, so whatever she does, I'm rooting for her.
[Hikaru] Shida didn't seem too pleased that Saraya ed her over in that whole mystery partner thing.
Anthony Bowens: In those kinds of situations, there's always going to be heated arguments. There's going to be people who don't like each other, so you've just got to see that play out Wednesday night.
The other big match on the card is Jon Moxley against Hangman Adam Page. Big, big grudge match between two of the best in the company. What are your thoughts on that?
Anthony Bowens: That one's been brewing for a while ever since the Hangman injury, and they've had some pretty sharp words for each other in the last couple of weeks. (laughs) So it'll very interesting. I've been in the ring with Mox before. He is tough, he hits hard, he will not back down from a fight. So Hangman having to overcome a Jon Moxley challenge is going to be tough, but we'll see if he can pull it out.
What are you watching and what you're listening to? I know The Last of Us show is coming out on HBO next Sunday. Are you excited for that?
Anthony Bowens: Yes, I am very excited. The Last of Us is my favorite video game franchise of all time next to Grand Theft Auto. There's no video game that has hit every single emotion in me throughout the course of the storyline [like The Last of Us]. I was laughing I was crying. I was angry, like everything! It's just a perfect, perfect video game. And a lot of times when you see on-screen adaptations of these things, it's usually not the best.
But I have very, very, very high hopes, especially because they had The Last of Us' video game creator as a part of the creative process for the show. Very confident that it's going to be fantastic. I can't wait to see it. I live in Los Angeles and there's all these acting opportunities going around. Hopefully, one day, I can maybe be a part of that TV show. That's a goal of mine. So I'm very excited to see that. Music-wise, I listen to just about everything, but I've been pretty big recently into Bob Moses. Have you heard of Bob? His music is fantastic. And he's been a vibe lately.
I'm glad that you mentioned that you want to do some acting and possibly in [The Last of Us]. Let's put that out there. Let's manifest this.
Anthony Bowens: Let's do it, man!
Let's get you on this show. Anthony, thank you so much. I really appreciate you and your time. I'll be at the Forum on Wednesday. I can't wait to see the show. I can't wait to see what The Acclaimed is up to.
Anthony Bowens: Oh, it's gonna be a lot of scissoring. It's gonna be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to be out there. Thank you for coming and ing, and if I see you as I walk down that ramp, get those scissor fingers ready.
About All Elite Wrestling
Founded by CEO, GM, and Head of Creative Tony Khan in 2019, AEW is offering an alternative to mainstream wrestling, with a roster of world-class talent that is injecting new spirit, freshness, and energy into the industry.
Check out our previous interview with Anthony Bowens here.
AEW Dynamite airs Wednesdays @ 8pm ET on TBS, while AEW Rampage airs Fridays @ 10pm ET on TNT.