Anthony Bowens Becomes First Gay All Elite Wrestling Champion
September 22, 2022Anthony Bowens has made history, becoming the first out gay wrestler to be an All Elite Wrestling (AEW) champion.
Under the team name "The Acclaimed," Bowens and his wrestling partner, Max Caster, won AEW’s Tag Team Championship on Wednesday, according to LGBTQ Nation. The crowd went wild as confetti fills the arena and Bowens and Caster celebrate.
On Twitter, Bowens used the win as a moment to honor his late grandmother. “When my Nana passed in 2015 I promised her I’d be a success,” he wrote. “Nana, I made it! AEW’s first Gay Champion. Most tag team wins in AEW. Most popular team in wrestling. EVERYONE LOVES THE ACCLAIMED.”
Bowens came out in 2017 as bisexual and in 2019 as gay.
“I’ve loved pro wrestling ever since I was 5 years old and I didn’t want my experience ruined because of other wrestlers thinking I got into it for the wrong (sexual) reasons,” Bowens wrote when he first came out. “The ring is my sanctuary, where nothing else matters. I couldn’t bear to think that if I came out, I’d spend most of my time worrying if the person I was wrestling was uncomfortable and didn’t want to work with me.”
Bowens created a stir last year when he kissed his boyfriend, Michael Pavano, in front of anti-LGBTQ+ protestors. He posted a picture to his Instagram of the pair locking lips in front of signs held by protestors that said, “Trump, Make America Great Again: Ban Homo Marriage” and “HOMOS GO TO HELL.”
“#Standup against hate,” he wrote in the caption.
After Bowens’s victory, Pavano tweeted that he is “so unbelievably proud” of him. “It was truly a surreal experience and I can’t think of anyone more deserving. I love you so much.”
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