On the September 25, 2020 episode of Dark (aired November 6), Bowens debuted with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He teamed with Lee Johnson and they lost to Chaos Project (Luther and Serpentico).[1] On the November 27 episode of Dark, Bowens would team with Max Caster in a loss against Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent).[2] On November 3, AEW owner Tony Khan announced that both Bowens and Caster had signed a five-year contract with AEW to wrestle as a tag team and the would call themselves The Acclaimed.[3]
In May 2022, Bowens would be confined to a wheelchair because of knee surgery but he still continued to cut promos and be at ringside for Caster's matches.[5] Bowens would return to the ring at Blood & Guts. He would enter the ring and accidently hit Caster's teammate Austin Gunn with the crutch he had.[6]
At Grand Slam, The Acclaimed managed by Billy Gunn and DJ Whoo Kid faced Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) managed by Fabolous. The Acclaimed would defeat them and win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. This was Bowens' first championship in AEW and with the win, he became the first openly gay wrestler to become an AEW champion.[7][8] They would lose the title to The Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) on the February 8, 2023 episode of Dynamite.[9]
↑Meltzer, Dave (February 2023). "February 2023 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Results of the 2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.