Bowens started training in 2012 and made his professional wrestling debut in 2013.[8][4] In November 2016, he suffered a concussion during a match on WWE NXT.[9]
Independent circuit (2016–2022)
Once back from injury, Bowens would work prolifically for tristate and New England independent wrestling promotions like Combat Zone Wrestling and Beyond Wrestling while also making appearances for Global Force Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.[10] He captured the WrestlePro Heavyweight Championship twice between 2016[11] and 2017.[12] On January 21, 2017, Bowens challenged Drew Galloway[13] unsuccessfully for the WCPW World Heavyweight Championship at Battle Club Pro's Fight Forever event,[14] which marked the first time the title had been defended outside of the UK.[15][16]
In November 2020, All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan announced that Bowens, alongside Max Caster, had been signed to a five-year contract with the promotion.[17][18] The announcement also stated that Bowens and Caster would compete as a tag team named The Acclaimed.[4] In May 2022, Bowens underwent knee surgery, sidelining him for several months.[19] During this time Bowens, still attended AEW shows and performed his regular promos, although did not wrestle and was using a wheelchair; Caster would subsequently team increasingly with the Gunns, with whom they had forged an alliance.[20] Bowens returned from injury at the Dynamite: Blood and Guts.[21] In September 2022, The Acclaimed turned face due to the favorable crowd reactions they would receive.
Billy Gunn, Max Caster and Bowens in 2022 during the Acclaimed's AEW World tag team title reign
At the 2022 AEW Grand Slam, The Acclaimed won the AEW World Tag Team Championship.[22] This made Bowens the first openly gay wrestler to win a championship in AEW.[23] During this run, they would feud with, and eventually lose the titles to The Gunn Club. They would also end up forming an alliance with Billy Gunn, Austin and Colten Gunn's biological father, where he was affectionately referred to as "Daddy Ass".[24] Bowens, Castor, and Billy would go on to defeat The House of Black to become AEW World Trios Champions.[25] At Dynasty: Zero Hour on April 21, 2024, ROH World Six-Man Tag Team ChampionsBullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) defeated Bowens, Castor, and Billy for the AEW World Trios Championship in a winner takes allchampionship unification match to unify the titles as the Unified World Trios Championship, ending their reign at a record 238 days.[26][27] The Acclaimed then began a feud with The Young Bucks, defeating them on the June 19 episode of Dynamite, in a eliminator match to earn a future shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship.[28] The Acclaimed were also apart of Team AEW that defeated The Elite in a Blood and Guts match on July 24 at the namesake event. On the August 14 episode of Dynamite, The Acclaimed's title match against The Young Bucks ended in a disqualification loss due to interference from FTR.[29] On August 25 at All In, The Acclaimed once again failed to win the titles from The Young Bucks in a three-way tag team match, also involving FTR.[30] In November 2024, tension between The Acclaimed began to rise as Caster began to act more arrogant and put himself over the group.[31][32]
^Meltzer, Dave (February 2023). "February 2023 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Results of the 2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
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