Anthony Bowens isn’t buying the criticism around his Five-Tool Player run in AEW and made that clear in a blunt response to fans.

After opening the floor for questions online, Bowens was asked if sticking too firmly to the character hurt his singles push. He shut that down quickly, insisting there was always a bigger plan in place that never materialized.

“Everything I did was purposeful and was meant to lead to something that never happened,” Bowens said. “People need to stop pretending like they know everything.”

He didn’t stop there, pushing back harder at the idea he was being stubborn.

“Just informing him that his assumption of stubbornness is incorrect and based off of something he has no idea about,” Bowens wrote. “I can accept your opinion of me as a wrestler, whether you think I’m a 2 out of 10 or 7 out of 10, but that’s much different than having to listen to people say stupid shit like that for the last year. Have a good day.”

Bowens introduced the Five-Tool Player persona after The Acclaimed split in January 2025, ending his run with Max Caster. The duo, alongside Billy Gunn, previously held both the AEW World Tag Team and Trios Championships before going their separate ways and feuding.

When asked to pick his favorite “Max” between Caster and AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Bowens kept it short and to the point: “Caster.”

Nah dude! Just informing him that his assumption of stubbornness is incorrect and based off of something he has no idea about. I can accept your opinion of me as a wrestler, whether you think I’m a 2 out of 10 or 7 out of 10, but that’s much different than having to listen to…

, Anthony Bowens (@Bowens_Official) April 6, 2026

Everything I did was purposeful and was meant to lead to something that never happened. People have stop pretending like they know everything https://t.co/f1LcWn4NUe

, Anthony Bowens (@Bowens_Official) April 6, 2026