Gay pro-wrestler Anthony Bowens makes history as AEW’s first openly gay champion
Anthony Bowens has made history as the first openly gay wrestler to win an AEW championship. On 22 September, Bowens and his wrestling partner Max Caster hit the ring to compete against Kieth Lee and Swerve Strickland in AEW’s coveted Grand Slam tag team championship.
While the two – who are also known as The Acclaimed – endured a tough match against their competitors, the duo ended up victorious – resulting in Bowen landing his historic win. “When my Nana passed in 2015, I promised her I’d be a success.
Nana, I made it! AEW’s first Gay Champion. Most tag team wins in AEW. Most popular team in wrestling,” he wrote on Twitter. A few days after he secured the title, Bowen gave further insight regarding his monumental win in an emotional video on Twitter. “I want to take a second on something that I don’t really talk about much on camera.
Some of you know, some of you may not know, but I never thought I’d be able to have a moment like this,” he said between tears. “I never thought I would be able to live my dreams because there was a time where I was very confused, and I didn’t know how to accept myself, but I fought through that bulls**t.” At the end of his video, Bowens gave one last inspiring message to his LGBTQ+ fans, stating: “Just know that everything gets better.
