Spoilers: MAJOR Storyline Development At AEW Collision Tapings (AEW News)
A big-time storyline development will take place on Saturday's AEW Colission (SPOILERS).
The Acclaimed officially split up during Thursday's AEW Collision tapings in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Per PWInsider's account, (now former) tag team partners Max Caster and Anthony Bowens were involved in an in-ring segment paying off months of teased tension, culminating in Caster declaring that because he was "team leader", he had the power to make the call - and The Acclaimed is done.
Bowens and Caster went back and forth on the microphone before this. Max, playing the heel, claimed the root of The Acclaimed's problems was Bowens failing to admit Caster is the "best wrestler alive." In return, Anthony stated that he'd been trying to protect Max in the locker room, media, and ring for five years. Bowens said that Caster had become a "cocky piece of s***" and lost his team spirit.
Billy Gunn came to the ring and tried to clear the air, asking Bowens and Caster if they'd lost their minds. To this, Max claimed that Billy never cared about them, only attaching himself to The Acclaimed so that people would chant has name again. Caster said that it wasn't the '90s anymore and that in 2025, people want to see 'The Best Wrestler Alive', not 'Daddy Ass.'
Caster built towards declaring The Acclaimed "done" by pinning blame on Gunn, saying that even his kids, Austin and Colten, wanted nothing to do with him. When Max asked Billy to choose between him and Anthony - and Gunn chose Bowens - Caster ended The Acclaimed and walked out.
The Acclaimed had been a tag team since Caster and Bowens were first paired together in 2020. Gunn joined Bowens and Caster in 2022, choosing them over Austin and Colten in storyline, after which the group's popularity surged through a well-received program with Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee.
At their zenith, The Acclaimed were amongst the most over babyface acts in the company, carrying them to one World Tag Team Title and one World Trios Championship reign. Caster's popularity in particular has wavered in recent times, however, and the past couple of months have been spent building towards an eventual split.
This segment should air on this Saturday's episode of AEW Collision.