Wrestlers battle during a tag team battle royal during AEW Dynamite at Footprint Center. Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

AEW talent 'never' going to use fan-favorite gimmick again

By Adam Taylor | Last updated Oct 5, 2025 5:51 PM ET

In 2022, The Acclaimed became one of the hottest tag teams in professional wrestling. Anthony Bowens and "Platinum" Max Caster were huge fan-favorites among the AEW faithful and quickly began to dominate the tag team scene.

One of the best parts of The Acclaimed was their entertaining wrestling, most notably Caster's rap skills. And while we're starting to see Bowen and Caster team up once again, albeit begrudgingly, it looks like those rapping entrances will remain a thing of the past.

During a recent episode of the Hey! (EW) podcast, Caster explained that he won't be rapping on AEW television moving forward.

"What I find annoying is that people love The Acclaimed so much that even though I do good (expletive) now and people know 'Best Wrestler Alive,' 'Let’s Go Max,' 'Survive Five with the Best Wrestler Alive,' etc., they will still come up to me and go, 'When is The Acclaimed gonna come back?' When are you gonna rap again?'" Caster said. "The thing is, I’m not, first of all, I’m never ever gonna rap at AEW again. You see what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert for saying (expletive) on TV, getting the shows canceled. Imagine if I get AEW Dynamite canceled or Collision canceled."

While Caster was clearly in kayfabe during the interview, his decision to stop rapping is likely a legitimate one. He often pushed the boundaries during his entrances and will be keen to avoid overstepping the line.

Fans will hope The Acclaimed return full-time

During its earlier years, AEW was built on stellar tag-team matches. The Acclaimed were a beneficiary of that approach. As the roster has expanded and elite singles wrestlers have emerged, the tag-team scene has become an afterthought.

As such, it makes sense that AEW is slowly angling its storytelling to bring The Acclaimed back together. When they're clicking, they can be one of the hottest duo acts in the world. Furthermore, they would bring a level of legitimacy to the tag division and potentially help bring it back to the forefront of the company's programming.

We already know The Acclaimed can move merchandise and get fans on their feet. So, regardless of whether Caster raps or not, it's time AEW reminds the world why everyone loves The Acclaimed.

Adam Taylor

Adam Taylor is a sports journalist based out of the UK. Adam has been covering the NBA for nearly a decade with a core focus on the Boston Celtics. He currently holds bylines with Yardbarker, SB Nation and USA Today

More must-reads: