AEW ‘Tough Enough’ Series Pitched By Former Champion, Has Other Ideas

AEW’s Anthony Bowens believes an ‘All Elite’ reality TV series, similar to WWE’s Tough Enough, would be a perfect fit for AEW’s programming. 

In May 2026, Bowens took to social media to pitch ‘Becoming the Elite’ as an idea that would see aspiring wrestlers compete for a spot in AEW. 

On a recent edition of the “Battleground” podcast, Bowens shared that the post was more than just a passing idea and hopes it happens. He said, 

“Tough Enough was one of my favorite, not to promote that, but it was one of my favorite things when I was a kid. Even still to this day honestly, I’ll go back and watch it. Like it was cool, it’s my childhood, it was like a first glimpse of what wrestling was behind the scenes for me. So I thought why not do something here with it? Except make it more AEW and make it fun.”

Bowens added that, it’s not just ‘Becoming the Elite’ that he’d love to see, but he enjoys pitching ideas and see what fans are receptive to. He said, 

“I like to manifest things and just throw it out there like ‘maybe it could become a thing. Warner Brothers Discovery is always looking for more content in regards to us and crossover opportunities.”

Bowens is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion (with Max Caster) and a former AEW World Trios Champion (with Caster and Billy Gunn).