AEW’s Anthony Bowens Gets ‘Fired Up’ With His Song Picks For ‘The Sound Of Pride’ Playlist

Proving he’s as well-versed in his music tastes as he is in the ring, AEW star Anthony Bowens brings some electrifying rock to HL’s Pride 2022 playlist – and a dash of Taylor Swift?

It’s Pride! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is running The Sound Of Pride, a month-long feature where members of the LGBTQ+ community pick songs that should be on your Pride 2022 playlist. For today’s installment, Anthony Bowens, one half of All Elite Wrestling tag-team The Acclaimed, shares his picks for the playlist.

“I’m always really inspired during Pride,” he tells HollywoodLife, “so I tend to listen to songs that reflect that feeling.” Though Anthony entered Pride 2022 with a knee injury, he continues to stand as a pillar of LGBTQ+ representation in popular media. As part of The Acclaimed with Max Caster, Anthony has been one of the shining stars of All Elite Wrestling, delivering in-ring action that hits just as hard as Casters’ pre-match diss raps (which wouldn’t be complete without Anthony’s hype at the end.) It’s safe to say that it won’t be long before The Acclaimed become “The Accoladed,” with the AEW tag-team championship belts around their waists.

But, for his Pride 2022 message, Anthony goes a more peaceful route. “BE YOU,” he shares. “Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Focus on what makes you happy in life and don’t let others’ negativity, immaturity, or ignorance stop you from being the person you are or aspire to be.”

With that – and a message of how “of the hard-working LGBTQ athletes in professional wrestling” deserve some more love – here are Anthony’s picks for The Sound Of Pride playlist.

Be sure to catch the stars of AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling at Forbidden Door on June 26 from the United Center in Chicago. The AEW x NJPW event will be broadcast live on PPV at 8 pm ET and streamed online through FiteTV. Don’t miss the exciting action.

Alter Bridge, “Rise Today”

Anthony: I’m a big rock guy, so “Rise Today” by Alter Bridge comes to mind. Their lyric “I wanna rise today and change this world” always gets me fired up.

Taylor Swift, “You Need To Calm Down”

On the flip side of things, I think a really one fun one that always applies is “You Need To Calm Down” by Taylor Swift. Whenever I hear that song come on, it always puts me in a good mood.

HollywoodLife: We’re entering the last week of Pride 2022. What do you think is the overall vibe of this year’s Pride Month?

Authenticity, freedom, and a little bit of attitude. There is a lot to celebrate, but we are still living in a time when some people in power are trying to strip us of our freedoms. So, we have to fight back…get out there and vote!

Pride Month is also a time to give love to unsung heroes of past and present. Are there any you’d like to get some more mainstream recognition?

I’d love to see more of the hard-working LGBTQ athletes in professional wrestling get more love. That includes the many out athletes on the independent wrestling scene too. When I first started, there were probably just a handful of out wrestlers, but now we have come to a place where we have events featuring a card with ALL LGBTQ wrestlers, which is incredible. There’s so much unknown talent out there with stories that can connect with the mainstream audience and help others who might be struggling with the same things they are. Visibility is key.

Do you have any plans for Pride 2022? Do you have a certain tradition?

Unfortunately, this year it’s been hard to get to a lot of Pride events because of my travel schedule, but in the past few years, you would find me at the Pride parade, soaking in the atmosphere and celebrating those who paved the way for us to be able to celebrate ourselves freely every year.