Former AEW Champions Become Free Agents (AEW News)

Following on from reports over the summer, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens are now officially free agents.

This comes from Fightful Select, which noted that Caster and Bowens' previous AEW contracts expired on October 1st, and neither man has re-signed with the company as of this writing.

Early August saw it first reported that Max Caster's AEW deal was up at the start of October, and that was followed in September by similar reports about Anthony Bowens' All Elite contract. With "a number" of AEW contracts coming up on October 1st, it's now been confirmed that Caster and Bowens have technically hit the free agency market. However, this Fightful report notes that there could still be the possibility of either of the two penning a new AEW deal, mentioning that they are both still listed on the AEW roster page. One source also told Fightful that the tragic events of recent weeks may have potentially caused a "slowdown" in any contract negotiations.

Having made their respective AEW debuts in the summer of 2020 as enhancement talent on AEW Dark, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens first teamed in October of that year, and they'd take on the Acclaimed name the following month. Of course, plentiful success would eventually follow, with the two becoming the AEW Tag Team Champions in 2022 and winning the AEW Trios Championships with Billy Gunn in 2023. The Acclaimed would go their separate ways at the start of last year, though they would later attempt a reunion, which ultimately petered out by November.

For Anthony Bowens, he's been a fairly regular presence on AEW programming in 2026, joining the Opps, most recently wrestling on the All In pre-show, and having made a couple of on-screen appearances since All In. In the case of Max Caster, Platinum Max has not competed for AEW since December, although he has remained active on the independent scene, including teaming with Bowens for a House of Glory show back in March.