10 Wrestling Career Turning Points That Took Place ON AIR

3. The Acclaimed

Anthony Bowens Keith Lee
AEW

Natural successors to Enzo and Cass (who themselves were natural successors to The New Age Outlaws), The Acclaimed's ceiling appeared to be as the perfect opening match heels that could eventually turn face on their opponents when the right time came.

At All Out 2022, they elevated their game beyond every possible expectation.

What looked by some distance to be the most inconsequential match on the show instead just about stole it as Swerve In Our Glory narrowly retained the doubles strap over a duo that were being made for life in front of all our very eyes.

From Max Caster's p*ss funny entrance rap to the heartbreaking second the Champions retained, the Chicago crowd were unglued for the heroes as Anthony Bowens selling of Swerve Strickland's attacks on his knee turned a good sell into an epic journey.

It mattered not that they eventually lost - this was the contest that won them pro wrestling immortality.

 
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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett