{"id":216899,"date":"2026-05-22T22:02:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T03:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=216899"},"modified":"2026-05-22T22:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T03:02:31","slug":"exclusive-aew-wrestler-anthony-bowens-says-he-expects-an-adjustment-period-as-he-portrays-a-new-version-of-his-character-in-the-opps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/05\/22\/exclusive-aew-wrestler-anthony-bowens-says-he-expects-an-adjustment-period-as-he-portrays-a-new-version-of-his-character-in-the-opps\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: AEW wrestler Anthony Bowens says he expects an adjustment period as he portrays a new version of his character in The Opps"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4051231550\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Anthony Bowens has been trying to find the next chapter for his character in AEW since The Acclaim broke up in January 2025. He recently joined The Opps in late April aligning with Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Hook. Bowens will team with Shibata and Hook to face The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli &amp; Anthony Garcia &amp; Wheeler Yuta) at the Double or Nothing PPV pre-show Buy In at 7 p.m. ET on May 24.<\/p>\n<p>Bowens believes that there\u2019s some deprogramming that needs to be done because he\u2019s been a certain version of himself in The Acclaimed that\u2019s less serious, but he feels that in the next six months he\u2019ll be settled in to his new, more serious role in The Opps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, there is some deprogramming that needs to go on because I\u2019ve been, you know, there\u2019s been a certain version of me that everybody has seen and that I\u2019ve presented for six years,\u201d said Bowens in a new <a href=\"https:\/\/vip.pwtorch.com\/2026\/05\/22\/vip-podcast-5-22-radican-worldwide-interview-with-anthony-bowens-overcoming-adversity-early-in-aew-run-developing-new-character-post-acclaim-vignettes-with-castor-the-opps-double-or-n\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exclusive interview<\/a> on Radican Worldwide available now for PWTorch VIP members. So, in taking photos in my new gear I was like \u2018Oh, wait a minute. I need to really feel myself a little bit differently, get a different vibe here.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Podcast weekly Tuesday Flagship: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/new-flagship-keller-fann-on-their-top-wish-list-to-change-course-of-pro-wrestling-brock-s-return-preview-of-aew-double-or-nothing-more--72078105\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cwade Keller\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NEW FLAGSHIP: Keller &amp; Fann on their top wish list to change course of pro wrestling, Brock's return, preview of AEW Double or Nothing, more\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=72078105&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Bowens said that it\u2019s going to be an adjustment to let go of his old habits from his role in The Acclaimed, as he\u2019s going to have to develop new instincts with his new heel character in The Opps. \u201cBecause my first instinct was to go (Bowens makes scissoring motion) and I don\u2019t do that anymore,\u201d said Bowens. \u201cSo, there is gonna be an adjustment period with that. But everything takes time. You know people get very impatient, and they go, \u2018Well, that\u2019s blah, blah, blah.\u2019 It takes time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, a year from now, I\u2019ll be completely settled. Six months from now I\u2019ll be completely settled in. But, it\u2019s gonna take time to find different things along the way. I have a look and a presentation, but I\u2019ll refine that as time goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bowens has had an idea of what he wants to do with his Pride of Pro Wrestling character for a long time, but he realizes that he is going to have to adjust that character to fit the needs of The Opps stable and how they\u2019re being presented on TV. \u201cAnd then depending on what opportunities lay ahead of me, I can continue to develop the personality of what The Pride of Pro Wrestling is,\u201d said Bowens. \u201cI gave you kind of what I was going for, but that might not look entirely the same in the realm of The Opps. So, it\u2019s about figuring it out. How do I take bits and pieces of what I was going for there and bring it here?<\/p>\n<p>Bowens said one difficulty of developing a new character in front of a national TV audience is they don\u2019t have the patience to allow a new character to get to where it needs to be. \u201cAnd sometimes that might work,\u201d said Bowens. \u201cSometimes it might not work initially, but will work down the line.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2278694410\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere needs to be patience involved as a viewer, but that\u2019ll never happen because everybody\u2019s impatient. You\u2019re gonna get &#8212; you gotta take your limps as a TV performer. There\u2019s always gonna be people going, \u2018What is he doing?\u2019 Why is he doing this?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWatch the show and then you will understand. We get a lot of people that do the equivalent of, I don\u2019t know, watching season one of Breaking Bad, and they go, they watch the first five episodes and then they won\u2019t watch to season three.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then they go, \u2018Why is Walter White bald? Why is Jesse doing this? This makes no sense.\u2019 Well, you missed three seasons and it\u2019s not on Breaking Bad to recap three seasons every episode. It\u2019s on you to watch. We\u2019re episodic television. So, keep up with the show and if you don\u2019t, don\u2019t complain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NOTE: Sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorchvipinfo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> and GO VIP to listen to Anthony Bowens&#8217;s exclusive interview on Radican Worldwide talking about ahead of the AEW Double or Nothing PPV on May 24. Double or Nothing will be available on most PPV providers, HBO Max, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ppv.com\/event\/don-26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PPV.com<\/a>. You can watch the Buy In pre-show for free on HBO Max or YouTube.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (5\/18) - WWE Raw w\/Keller &amp; Weigle\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MgQOSRU3UYM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3711910281\"><div id=\"pwtor-2277682843\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Anthony Bowens has been trying to find the next chapter for his character in AEW since The Acclaim broke up in January 2025. He recently joined The Opps in late April aligning with Samoa Joe, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/05\/22\/exclusive-aew-wrestler-anthony-bowens-says-he-expects-an-adjustment-period-as-he-portrays-a-new-version-of-his-character-in-the-opps\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: AEW wrestler Anthony Bowens says he expects an adjustment period as he portrays a new version of his character in The Opps\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":216905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6163,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aew-news","category-prowrestlingnews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2026\/05\/IMG_6431.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216906,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216899\/revisions\/216906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}