AEW has dropped the ball with the Acclaimed

From a tag team that started with cheesy raps in the middle of an empty Daily’s Place to taking AEW’s tag division by storm, The Acclaimed quickly proved they were one of the hottest babyface acts in all of pro wrestling.

Last summer, even though Anthony Bowens was hurt with a knee injury, Max Caster and the Gunns carried their story throughout the summer, winning over the fans. The momentum would eventually turn into a shot at the then-AEW World Tag Team Champions, Swerve in Our Glory, at All Out.

During the match, the Chicago crowd was so behind the hottest act in AEW, some fans even called for the backstage bookers to call an audible and let The Acclaimed win the belts.

Just 17 days later, the Acclaimed earned a rematch for the belts at AEW: Dynamite- Grand Slam, this time winning gold for the first time in their careers.

The Acclaimed’s reign with the belts lasted 140 days, defending the belts six times against the likes of the Butcher and the Blade, Jey Lethal and Jeff Jarrett, and FTR.

Then came the fateful night when AEW had a decision to make. Should they make a returning FTR feud with the Acclaimed for the tag team belts or crown transitional champs?

AEW decided on the Feb. 8 edition of AEW Dynamite that Austin and Colten Gunn should defeat the Acclaimed for the belts to avoid the top two babyface tag teams in the company feuding against one another inevitably turning one of the teams heel. Since losing the belts, The Acclaimed has mainly been demoted to exclusively being on Rampage not having wrestled a two-on-two match since Feb. 22, 2023.

Now, The Acclaimed are mainly performing as a trio alongside Billy Gunn. While Gunn was a pivotal part of getting the catchphrases “Scissor Me” and “Ass Boys” over, there is no real reason that he should be competing in the ring consistently at 59 years old.

The trio has been dominant in the ring on Friday nights, racking up wins, and probably is headed toward a match against the House of Black for the trios titles in the near future, but they could be doing so much more.

We all know that this trio doesn’t really stand a chance against the House of Black; the champs should easily pick up the win against the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. The Acclaimed should have never been forced into becoming a trio; Anthony Bowens and Max Caster should’ve stayed in a tag team with Billy Gunn as their manager because there was no reason to change what worked so well.

The Acclaimed could still be at the top of the tag title scene feuding with FTR, but AEW has gone with Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett as better challengers, which is silly, to say the least.

AEW should’ve never purposely avoided letting FTR and the Acclaimed feud with each other, showing the misutilization of Bowens and Caster more than ever before.