Popular talent details AEW's inclusion of stars proud to be LGBTQ; discloses goals in Tony Khan led promotion

Popular AEW star Anthony Bowens has never been afraid to talk about his sexuality. He recently went into detail about what it means to be an openly gay wrestler behind the scenes in All Elite Wrestling.

Bowens is one of many AEW stars who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The likes of Sonny Kiss, Nyla Rose, and Kiera Hogan have all openly shared their journeys as members of the community. Things have changed, as at one point the performers would have been shunned from the wrestling business for their sexuality.

Speaking in an in-depth interview with The Sports Courier, Anthony Bowens admitted that the lack of judgment stars like Nyla Rose and Sonny Kiss got in All Elite Wrestling's early days is what attracted him to the company.

“It’s one of the things that attracted me to come into AEW when I came here as an extra before I was signed. I saw people like Sonny Kiss and Nyla Rose just walking around being themselves without judgement and people being inclusive with them and there was no fear for them at all. That was super important to me for wherever I would land at the time. There’s never a time at work where I’m consciously thinking about it, it’s something that’s openly celebrated." (H/T Fightful)

However, Bowens did state that there is still a lot of work to be done to get rid of the negative stigma. He vowed to show the world that you can be a successful gay athlete without sexuality ever being brought up.

"We still have got work to do but it’s been overwhelmingly positive. I take that responsibility of being an out athlete very seriously because I’d like to show that you can be an successful openly gay professional athlete without it being the center of attention or center of focus. At times, it is important to bring it up." (H/T Fightful)

The names mentioned above have gone on to achieve varying degrees of success in the promotion so far. Rose is a former Women's Champion, Kiss has been in title contention and Bowens, as one half of The Acclaimed, can't walk through an AEW crowd without someone offering to scissor him (playfully of course).

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Anthony Bowens wants to become AEW's first openly gay champion next week on Dynamite

2022 has been a blockbuster year for The Acclaimed so far. The duo have transformed into one of the most popular tag teams, not just in All Elite Wrestling, but in wrestling as a whole.

Bowens and partner Max Caster came up short in their AEW Tag Team Championship match at All Out against Swerve In Our Glory. However. they will get a rematch at Arthur Ashe stadium on the "Grand Slam" episode of Dynamite.

Bowens in particular is taking this match even more seriously than the four men's first encounter, as he hopes to become the first gay champion in All Elite Wrestling history.

"Next week Max and I are gonna fight for our lives in this match and we also wanna bring home gold and if we do, I end up being AEW’s first gay champion, which is something that I would be super proud of.” (H/T Fightful)

Do you think The Acclaimed will win the AEW Tag Team Championships? Let us know in the comments section down below!