Anthony Bowens may have won title and trio gold during his five years in AEW, but perhaps his most memorable and heartwarming moment was a segment during that time. “AEW Rampage” June 23, 2023 episode, where he rejected Harley Cameron’s advances, declaring “I’m gay”. Got the line Huge response from the Chicago crowdand has continued to be talked about years later as a moment of positive LGBTQ+ representation. in an interview with “Michael Ferman” Bowens addressed its impact and how it came about, revealing that AEW had planned such a segment earlier, though this particular moment submitted by QT Marshall.
“He was like, ‘It’s Pride Month and we need to do something with you,'” Bowens said. “Why don’t we do a funny segment? You know, I imagine Harley’s character to be a not-so-intelligent blonde woman like that. He’s just flirting with you and just doesn’t get the hint that I’m gay. We’re going to have this big part where he’s throwing himself at you, he’s throwing a bomb at you, and you’re throwing a bomb.”
Bowens liked the idea, especially because it was lighthearted as opposed to being super serious. In the end, his only complaint about the segment was that it didn’t take place live, which led to the segment being cut by a few minutes to accommodate the TV, leaving out some of the crowd reaction to him and Cameron.
“They booed that woman so loud that when she was rapping … for me, I couldn’t hear what she was saying,” Bowens said. “I literally looked at Billy (Gunn), who’s standing next to me, and I said, ‘Can you hear him?’ And he’s like, ‘No.’ There was just a consistent scream and when I turned it around and dropped the bomb on him, all… same thing. They were chanting. Billy was laughing like “I can’t believe this is happening!” Max (Custer) was jumping around. It was a really great moment.”
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit the Michael Fairman Channel and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
