Anthony Bowens laments unfinished AEW storyline

Anthony Bowens’ Five-Tool Player gimmick didn’t have much success in AEW. Now Bowens is saying he never got to finish what the character started.

Bowens discussed the issue on social media after asking his fans to send him questions. One fan discussed Bowens’ “stubbornness” and asked if the gimmick hurt his solo run.

“Everything I did was purposeful and was meant to lead to something that never happened,” Bowens replied. “People have stop pretending like they know everything.”

Bowens expounded on his comments in a reply to another fan. “Just informing him that his assumption of stubbornness is incorrect and based off of something he has no idea about,” he wrote. “I can accept your opinion of me as a wrestler, whether you think I’m a 2 out of 10 or 7 out of 10, but that’s much different than having to listen to people say stupid sh*t like that for the last year. Have a good day!”

Bowens and his former partner Max Caster are former AEW World Tag Team Champions, and they also won the AEW World Trios Championships with Billy Gunn. They officially broke up in January of 2025, with Bowens adopting the Five-Tool Player nickname, a reference to his background in baseball. He and Caster then had a never-ending rivalry/partnership for the rest of the year, winning Worst Feud of the Year in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.

Is there any chance for an Acclaimed reunion? Another fan asked Bowens who his favorite Max was, Caster, or AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman. “Caster” was Bowens’ blunt reply.