Max Caster (born July 31, 1989) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and rapper, currently signed to

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

(AEW), where he teams with

Anthony Bowens Anthony Bowens (born December 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he teams with Max Caster as The Acclaimed. They are former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champions. Early life Bowe ...

as The Acclaimed. They are former one-time

AEW World Tag Team Champions The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wrestlers. ...

. He began his wrestling career in 2015 and signed with AEW in November 2020, beginning a team with Bowens called The Acclaimed. Caster is known for his hip hop-inspired persona, often rapping to diss his opponents during his entrance. He released his debut album, ''Critically Acclaimed, Vol.1'', in May 2021, under the name Platinum Max.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2015–2020)

Caster trained under

Curt Hawkins Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact Digital Media Champion. He is best known for his tenures in WWE from 2006–2014 and 2016–2020 unde ...

and

Pat Buck Patrick Buckridge (born December 24, 1984), better known by the ring name Pat Buck, is an American professional wrestler and promoter, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as the Vice President of Talent Development and as a coach. He wa ...

at their Create A Pro Wrestling Academy and made his debut for the school's promotion in February 2015, later becoming the inaugural CAP Champion in December of that year. He wrestled on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

for a number of promotions including

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

. He also made a WWE appearance as one of

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

's (kayfabe) sisters on the May 22, 2018 episode of

WWE RAW ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...

All Elite Wrestling (2020–present)

Caster made his first appearance for

(AEW) on the June 23, 2020 episode of ''

Dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

'', teaming with

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

and Serpentico in a losing effort against

Jurassic Express Jurassic Express was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus. The team performed in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where they are former AEW World Tag Team Champions. History Prior to signing with AEW, Jung ...

( Jungle Boy,

Luchasaurus Austin Matelson (born March 10, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and television personality currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Luchasaurus, where he is a former AEW World Tag Team Cha ...

and

Marko Stunt Noah Nelms (born July 30, 1996), better known under the ring name Marko Stunt, is an American professional wrestler and singer best known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his appearances for Game Changer Wrestling ...

). He came back with his new tag team partner

on the October 27 episode of ''Dark'' but lost to Best Friends ( Chuck Taylor and

Trent Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...

). In November 2020, AEW President

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All E ...

announced that Caster, alongside Bowens, had been signed to a five-year contract with the promotion. The announcement also stated that Bowens and Caster would compete as a tag team named The Acclaimed. Caster and Bowens made their first appearance on the December 16 episode of ''

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

'', defeating

SoCal Uncensored SoCal Uncensored (SCU) was an American professional wrestling collective that consisted of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Daniels and Kazarian are no longer able to team tog ...

. The following week, Caster and Bowens unsuccessfully challenged

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the

AEW World Tag Team Championship The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wrestlers ...

. On the March 3, 2021, episode of ''Dynamite'', Caster defeated 10 to qualify for the Face of the Revolution

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. However, at Revolution, the match was won by

Scorpio Sky Schuyler Andrews (born April 2, 1983), better known by the ring name Scorpio Sky, is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Andrews is also known for his appearances with Ring of ...

. At

Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...

on May 30, Caster competed in the

Casino Battle Royale The Casino Battle Royale, with its tag team variant being the Casino Tag Team Royale, is a professional wrestling match utilized by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Both variations are modified rumble rules battle royals. The Casino Battle Royale featu ...

, but he was eliminated by

Christian Cage William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Christian Cage. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Christ ...

. On the August 3 episode of ''Dark'', while making his entrance, Caster rapped about subjects such as Olympic gymnast

Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...

' mental health issues, the

Duke lacrosse case The Duke lacrosse case was a widely reported 2006 criminal case in Durham, North Carolina, United States in which three members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team were falsely accused of rape. The three students were David Evans, Collin ...

, the validity of PCR COVID-19 testing, and made a sexual joke about

Julia Hart Julia Hart (born April 7, 1982) is an American filmmaker and actress. She is known for writing and directing the comedy drama ''Miss Stevens'' (2016), the superhero drama '' Fast Color'' (2018), the musical romance '' Stargirl'' (2020), and th ...

. AEW owner

called the rap "terrible", said it should have been edited out of the show and announced that he would personally be taking over the editing of the show going forward. Caster was later removed from several independent events and AEW programming following the incident. He returned to action at '' Dark: Elevation'' on September 1. On September 21, 2022, at AEW Grand Slam 2022, The Acclaimed, with

Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently ...

as their manager, would win their first AEW tag team championship from Swerve In Our Glory ( Keith Lee &

Swerve Strickland Stephon Strickland (born September 30, 1990) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland and is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion (with Keith Lee). ...

). On February 8th 2023, after 140 days as champions, they lost the championships to Colten and

Austin Gunn Austin Sopp (born August 26, 1994), better known by the ring name Austin Gunn, is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality, currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is part of the tag team Gunn Club ( ...

on ''Dynamite''.

Personal life

Caster's father is former NFL player

Rich Caster Richard C. Caster (born October 16, 1948) is a former American football wide receiver and tight end who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mainly for the New York Jets. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1972, ...

Discography

Mixtapes

*''Critically Acclaimed, Vol.1'' (2021)

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – with

*Create A Pro Wrestling ** CAP Championship (2 times) ** CAP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobby Orlando and Bryce Donovan ** CAP Championship Tournament (2015) *National Wrestling League **

NWL Heavyweight Championship The NWL Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling League promotion. It was created on March 3, 1989, when John Rambo defeated "Russian" Ivan Koloff in Elk Garden, West Virginia. The title is defend ...

(1 time) **NWL Vista Championship (1 time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

**Ranked No. 171 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

'' in 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caster, Max Living people African-American male professional wrestlers All Elite Wrestling personnel Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Nassau County, New York 1989 births 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people People from Rockville Centre, New York 21st-century professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New York City AEW World Tag Team Champions