Tag: max caster

Former ECW star and AEW name to appear at NYC showcase this weekend

Posted on by Jake Skudder

Former ECW star Tommy Dreamer and AEW star Max Caster will be appearing at the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC this Saturday at 10:30 PM. The concept of the show is “name in bucket, grab the mic and 60 seconds to earn a wrestling ‘contract.'”

The press release for the show states: “NAW or Never is a no-holds-barred comedy-meets-wrestling showcase where anyone can step into the spotlight (or just spectate) and try to earn a spot on the Nearly Average Wrestling roster. It’s like if The Voice got bodyslammed by Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Contestants get 60 seconds to cut a promo, show off a character, or do whatever it takes to prove they belong. With surprise guests from WWE, AEW, and beyond, you never know who’ll show up or what will happen.”

The show will feature Shane Hartline, Peter Murphy, Ben Kaplan, Leroy Patterson, Tommy Dreamer (ECW), Max Caster (AEW), and more TBA.

NAW or Never Tickets and Venue Guide

Here is some extra info for the show if you’re interested in attending:

All sales are final. The show starts at the time listed. If you are not at the theater more than 5 minutes before the start of the show, we may release your tickets to the waitlist.

Lineup is subject to change. Under 17 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Please use discretion, as all our shows can potentially use adult/sexual material, language, and images.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre: 242 East 14th Street, New York, NY 10003

Anthony Bowens laments unfinished AEW storyline

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

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.

Acclaimed, Sammy Guevara announced for Long Island HOG event

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

House of Glory has booked some of AEW’s most decorated champions for its next show.

Both Sammy Guevara and the Acclaimed will be appearing at HOG’s Superclash event in Long Island on March 21. It’s hard to tell whether Anthony Bowens and Max Caster are still teaming together in AEW these days, but HOG has booked the Acclaimed together in a tag match against the Mane Event, the team of Jay Lyon & Midas Black. Originally trained by HOG founder Amazing Red, Lyon & Black are three-time former HOG Tag Team Champions. 

Speaking of Amazing Red, he’ll also return to action on March 21, facing Guevara. It will be the first time that Guevara has wrestled the 28-year veteran, who has won three TNA X Division Championships among many other titles. 

Guevara, Cody Rhodes, and Wardlow are the only three-time TNT Champions in AEW history; he is also a former Interim TNT champion and a three-time Ring of Honor Tag Team champion, a title he currently holds along with the Beast Mortos. 

The Acclaimed are former AEW World Tag Team Champions. Along with Billy Gunn, they once held the AEW Trios Championships for 238 days, a record that was only recently broken by the Opps of Samoa Joe & Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs.

House of Glory is co-promoting Superclash along with The Big Event. The event takes place at the Suffolk Credit Union Arena in Brentwood, New York, on March 21. Tickets are available here.

Former AEW Tag Team Champions to reunite next week

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former AEW Tag Team and Trios Champions The Acclaimed will reluctantly reunite next week on either AEW Dynamite or Collision.

The news was revealed during Saturday’s All Out with footage shown from after this past Wednesday’s September to Remember. Max Caster and Anthony Bowens were shown arguing with each other with recent peacemaker Jerry Lynn telling them he pulled some strings to get them a match against Swirl (Blake Christian and Lee Johnson) next week.

Caster and Bowens didn’t like the idea and continued to bicker with Caster eventually disappearing after Bowens briefly turned around.

That follows developments from last Saturday’s Collision where Bowens reluctantly helped Caster fend off Christian and Johnson after they attacked Lynn and Caster.

The two have been split up since January 2025 after a breakup was teased for several months. Both men had less than successful singles runs as pointed out by Lynn recently. Caster hasn’t won a singles or tag match since November 2024 while Bowens has had mixed results since returning from a three-month absence in April.

Notably absent in this angle is Billy Gunn whom the two held the aforementioned Trios title with. Previously aligned with Bowens, it’s unclear why he hasn’t been involved.

Anthony Bowens returns, defeats Max Caster at AEW Dynasty Zero Hour

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Image: JJ Williams

Anthony Bowens is back.

After a sabbatical following their separation as a team, Bowens made a surprise return at AEW Dynasty’s Zero Hour pre-show. Walking to the ring with a completely new look and Billy Gunn by his side, Bowens confronted Caster, took his trademark plaque, and threw it outside. The match ended just as quickly as it began, with Bowens defeating Caster after hitting a spinning elbow. 

Following weeks of dissension, Bowens and Caster met at AEW Collision Maximum Carnage back in January. Caster said that Bowens didn’t believe in him being the best wrestler alive. Bowens shot back, saying Caster was selfish and called him a “edgelord piece of s***.” After Gunn came out and joined Bowens’ side, Caster left, saying he was walking away from the group.

Since the split, Bowens has been off television while Caster has appeared both on Collision and Dynamite, taking on everyone and anyone in the Best Wrestler Alive open challenge. He has yet to win a match, usually losing quickly to everyone that’s accepted. In the last few weeks, he had been bringing up his former tag team partner, including on Saturday’s Collision where he quickly lost to Mark Briscoe.

Max Caster open challenge, trios match added to AEW Dynasty Zero Hour

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two new segments have been added to AEW Dynasty’s pre-show.

It was announced on Saturday that Nick Wayne and Cru (Action Andretti & Lio Rush) will take on AR Fox and Top Flight in a trios match. Collision saw Top Flight beat Cru in a tag team match after weeks of tension between the former friends. Angry about the loss, Rush and Andretti immediately jumped Dante and Darius Martin after the bell as AR Fox came out for the save. Nick Wayne, who earlier in the night rebuffed an offer by Cru to help them, came out and aided them in taking out Top Flight and Fox.

Also set for Sunday is a Max Caster Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge. Before quickly losing to Mark Briscoe on Saturday, Caster referenced his former tag team partner Anthony Bowens.

The Zero Hour pre-show begins on Sunday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. The pre-show will air for free on AEW’s YouTube and digital media channels. The main card kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view.

The current Dynasty lineup:

  • AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against Swerve Strickland
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Megan Bayne
  • AEW International Champion Kenny Omega defends against Ricochet and Mike Bailey in a three-way
  • AEW Trios Champions Death Riders (Wheeler Yuta, PAC & Claudio Castagnoli) defend against Rated FTR (Cope, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
  • ROH World Champion Chris Jericho defends against Bandido in a title vs. mask match
  • AEW TNT Champion Daniel Garcia defends against Adam Cole with no time limit and no interference
  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate (Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley) defend against Bryan Keith & Big Bill
  • Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight in an Owen Hart Foundation tournament first round match
  • Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart in an Owen Hart Foundation tournament first round match
  • Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher in an Owen Hart Foundation tournament first round match
  • The Opps (Samoa Joe, Hook & Katsuyori Shibata) make an appearance
  • Zero Hour: AR Fox & Top Flight vs. The Cru & Nick Wayne
  • Zero Hour: Max Caster Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge

Max Caster open challenge announced for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Ian Carey

Max Caster will look to prove he is the “Best Wrestler Alive” on Wednesday. 

AEW has announced that Caster’s open challenge has been officially scheduled for this week’s Dynamite. 

“Who will step up to Max Caster’s Best Wrestler Alive™ Open Challenge this Wednesday?”

Last week on Dynamite, Caster interrupted Hangman Page’s promo by complaining off-screen about how long it was taking, leading to a confrontation. On last night’s Collision, Caster cut a promo on Page, saying he should answer his open challenge on Dynamite this week. 

The announced card for the February 12 Dynamite:

  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin w/MVP) defend against The Gunns (Austin & Colten Gunn)
  • AEW Trios Champions the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta) defend against the Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong)
  • MJF vs. Dustin Rhodes
  • Max Caster’s Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge

AEW Collision notes: Challenges, Max Caster, in-ring returns, Don Callis Family

Posted on by Josh Nason

Saturday’s Homecoming edition of AEW Collision featured a pair of challenges, a new Max Caster open challenge, and a trio of in-ring returns.

Challenges

Following he and Brody King’s tag team victory over the Gates of Agony, Buddy Matthews decided to challenge reigning AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada after Okada laughed at the newly-christened Hounds of Hell in a backstage segment.

Okada had no interest to which Matthews retorted that him being turned down made Okada a bitch which the champion didn’t care for. Earlier in the night, Okada defeated Komander in a champion vs. champion match.

Later in the show, Penelope Ford challenged former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa to a match after they got into a verbal disagreement, and Darius Martin called out Lio Rush given the issues between their respective teams.

In all cases, no date or location was announced with this Wednesday’s Collision TV taping following Dynamite as a strong possibility.

The Max Caster open challenge series

After former AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed split up last week, Max Caster is now on his own and declared on Saturday that he is holding his own open challenge series. He called himself a survivor and he wanted to see who the other survivors are even though they can’t beat “the best wrestler alive.”

AEW continues to get healthier by the week with three wrestlers making their announced in-ring returns after long absences:

  • After being out for more than half a year, former AEW World Champion and former TNT Champion Samoa Joe opened the show with a win over Nick Wayne. He was taken out by Chris Jericho in a street fight last July as a storyline cover for him returning to work on the second season of Twisted Metal for Peacock
  • In a trios match, Cool Hand Ang/Angelo Parker returned to the ring for the first time since last August, getting pinned in a trios match that featured himself, Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard against Adam Cole, Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly. It was his first AEW match since last April while he wrestled three times in ROH from June through August. He and wife Ruby Soho got married and celebrated the birth of their first child in October.
  • Yuka Sakazaki returned to AEW for the first time since last September and made it an impactful return, earning a TBS title shot this Wednesday against Mercedes Mone.

Don Callis Family expanding?

In a brief taped vignette before AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita’s title defense against Katsuyori Shibata, Don Callis noted to his family that there might not just be five of them, insinuating more members could be coming.

The Acclaimed break up on AEW Collision Maximum Carnage

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Acclaimed are no more.

After Max Caster told Anthony Bowens to choose between himself and Billy Gunn, Bowens signaled he wanted to scissor with Caster. However, Bowens ended up flipping him off, aligning himself with Billy Gunn and choosing to end his association with Caster. Angered, Caster said he was going to walk out on them, saying The Acclaimed was no more.

During his promo on Collision, Caster said he wanted to clear the air with Bowens, who joined him in the ring. Caster told Bowens that he was upset that he didn’t recognize him as the Best Wrestler Alive. Bowens became frustrated and told Caster that he had protected him for five years because he was his partner, but Caster made him turn into a liar, calling Caster a “arrogant edgelord piece of s***”.

Billy Gunn then came out to try an settle the issue. Caster claimed that Gunn was only part of the group to get attention and even his own sons didn’t want anything to do with him. After Bowens rejected Caster, he and Billy Gunn scissored one last time.

During their run in the company, Caster and Bowens had held the AEW Tag Team titles and AEW Trios titles on one occasion. The split came after weeks of Caster arrogantly claiming himself to be the Best Wrestler Alive, a phrase he trademarked on a piece of paper he carried around, including on Collision.

Two new matches added to next AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two new matches are set for this Wednesday.

Kyle Fletcher will take on Shelton Benjamin in a Continental Classic Blue League match. On Collision, Fletcher started the tournament off on a positive note, defeating The Beast Mortos to earn his first three points. Benjamin has also started off strong, defeating Mark Briscoe on the last episode of Dynamite to earn three points.

In another match, Max Caster will take on Swerve Strickland. The two crossed paths on the last Dynamite, with Caster bringing up Swerve’s childhood home burning down. Swerve ended up jumping Caster as a result. On Collision, Caster said that Swerve didn’t deserve the opportunities he’s gotten in AEW. He also mentioned that he hasn’t talked to the rest of the Acclaimed since Anthony Bowens lost their match at Full Gear and told the rest of the Acclaimed to take the week off.

Here is the updated lineup for Dynamite:

  • Dynamite Dozen battle royal
  • AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King
  • AEW Continental Classic Blue League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Shelton Benjamin
  • PAC vs. Jay White
  • Swerve Strickland vs. Max Caster

AEW’s Max Caster to miss indie event following global IT outage

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An IT outage that caused global disruptions on Friday is also impacting the world of professional wrestling.

The mass IT outage was caused by a faulty tech update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. It disrupted air travel on Friday with airlines now working to get back on schedule. AEW wrestler Max Caster was supposed to appear for Defy Wrestling at their For the Glory show in Seattle tonight, but he sent out a video on social media announcing that he’s unable to make it. Caster’s tag team partner Anthony Bowens will still be at the show.

“Big disaster at the airport today. We were working all morning, all afternoon, trying to get me a new flight from New York to Seattle to come wrestle and to come meet the fans. And we were just not able to do it,” Caster said. “All the airlines were just not operating correctly today. Not their fault and not Defy’s fault. I really wish I was there.”

Caster apologized to the fans and promised that he’ll come back to Defy and make it up to everyone.

The Acclaimed (Caster & Bowens) were scheduled to face Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson) at the show.

Game Changer Wrestling promoter Brett Lauderdale posted that this was also a bad travel day for GCW with flight delays and cancellations. Changes will have to be made to the card for GCW’s So High event in St. Louis tonight.

WWE wrestler Chelsea Green tweeted that she spent eight hours at the Atlanta airport today but was finally able to get on a flight to tonight’s SmackDown in Omaha, Nebraska.

Rhea Ripley reacts to Max Caster’s rap at AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Ian Carey

Rhea Ripley has seemingly responded to comments made by Max Caster at Double or Nothing. 

Ripley and Domink Mysterio were mentioned on Sunday’s pay-per-view ahead of the Trios title match between The Acclaimed and House of Black. Max Caster’s pre-match rap referenced the real-life relationship between Ripley and Buddy Matthews and Ripley’s on-screen role with Dominik in WWE.  

“Buddy acts all ominous when he’s getting cucked by a kid named Dominik,” Caster said. 

On Monday, Ripley posted to social media: 

Dominik responded:

According to a post from SEScoops, Buddy Matthews responded as well but has since deleted his Tweet. 

The House of Black successfully defended their titles against The Acclaimed in a match that went 15 minutes and 21 seconds. It was House of Black’s fifth straight title defense since winning the belts from The Elite at Revolution 2023 in March. 

Ripley also wrestled this weekend when she successfully defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Natalya. Dominik distracted the challenger after the bell rang and Ripley needed just one minute and 10 seconds to pick up the victory. 

The Acclaimed react to AEW Tag Team title win

Posted on by Ian Carey

Max Caster and Anthony Bowens have each posted to social media following their AEW Tag Team title victory at Grand Slam. 

The Acclaimed became the eighth team in history to win the titles after defeating Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday. They both took to Twitter on Thursday to comment on the achievement. 

Swerve in our Glory’s title reign ends after 70 days and three successful title defenses. The Young Bucks hold the record for the most days spent with the titles in a single reign with 302. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega are tied with the Bucks for the most successful title defenses in a single reign with nine. The Young Bucks are the only team to have won the belts twice. 

The Acclaimed hold a record of 10 wins and three losses in two-on-two tag team matches so far in 2022. Their only losses this year have been to Swerve in our Glory (All Out), Jurassic Express (March 9), and Sting & Darby Allin (January 19). 

Daily Update: Io Shirai, Virgil, Max Caster

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

Latest Free YouTube Video:

Job Listing: Onlamp php/mysql developer. Experience with vbulletin and drupal/WordPress a plus. Email [email protected] with subject PHP DEVELOPER with resume.

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: July 11, 2022 Observer Newsletter: Money in the Bank recap, WWE & AEW business notes

Among the highlights:

  • Match and Performer of the week
  • Full coverage of Money in the Bank, business numbers and analysis, crossover fans with AEW, SummerSlam show and business and a look at the SummerSlam card.
  • The last two months of business for WWE and AEW, including major notes regarding both companies as far as arena success and a change in momentum going forward, as well as major gains by wrestling in what age groups.
  • New Japan talks its business when it comes to training young talent, goals for G-1, women’s matches in New Japan, return to the UK, joint show with Stardom and changing from old traditions.
  • UFC 276 coverage and what comes next for the champions, controversies, rundowns of the fights and business notes.
  • The life of Masashi Aoyagi, one of the key players in the start of the Japanese indie scene, as well as in the connection of karate to pro wrestling
  • The career and controversies of the retiring UFC star Donald Cerrone
  • The story of PWG and its influence on the changes in pro wrestling and what we were taught that was no longer valid to modern fans. A look at 19 years of some of the best matches ever held and top stars before they became famous.
  • The most detailed look at pro wrestling on television and ratings over the past week
  • More on sports rights fees and Tony Khan talks negotiations
  • Realities of pro wrestling on television
  • The next ROH PPV show
  • AEW sets international ratings record
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • Looking back at WWE working with promotions on a joint promotion show
  • Streaming numbers for WWE & AEW
  • Big E update
  • Tyson Fury/WWE update
  • Israel Adesanya wants to do WWE
  • WWE & UFC head-to-head several more times this year for major shows
  • Next MSG show
  • Rundown of A&E TV shows on Sunday nights

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: May 30, 2005 Observer Newsletter: UPN moves SmackDown to Friday, ECW PPV turns into political fight

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday News Update

WWE

AEW

  • This week’s AEW Road To, focusing on Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jake Hager and the Triple or Nothing tag match for the AEW World Tag Team titles.
  • This week’s AEW Control Center with Tony Schiavone.
  • The Butcher is the guest on this week’s The Sessions with Renee Paquette.
  • Soundshpere has an interview with Max Caster where he says that a diss track is being made for The Gunn Club, who turned on The Acclaimed on last week’s Dynamite. “The track is DONE,” he said. “The song is called ‘Trash Day’ because we are gonna take out the trash when we get our hands on The Ass Boys there. I am not psyched with how that all turned out.”
  • Paul Wight talked to WrestlingInc about his upcoming role in the film ‘Marcus’.
  • This week’s Sammy Guevara vlog.

Other Wrestling

  • GCW announced they will be returning to Japan for a three show tour this fall.
  • The first of a three part documentary series on Ric Flair’s Final Match has been uploaded.
  • Slam Wrestling has an article on Virgil. In regards to his health, Slam Wrestling says he has suffered two minor strokes, stage one gastrointestinal cancer (not colon cancer), and the onset of dementia.
  • JONAH was interviewed by NJPW’s English website ahead of the start of the G1 Climax tournament this weekend.