Former Ring of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle almost jumped ship to WWE in 2021.
Ring of Honor’s Dalton Castle recently sat down with Amy Nemmity of Wrestle Joy to discuss a wide variety of subjects. During the interview, Castle revealed there was a point in 2021 when he intended on leaving Ring of Honor to sign with WWE.
“Then, the pandemic happened. In 2021, my contract was expiring, and I was going to leave the company,” Dalton Castle recalled. “I wasn’t getting offered a raise because of the pandemic. WWE called and offered me almost double what I was making. And it became clear that I had to leave. I told them what happened, and Ring of Honor didn’t make any effort to keep me. It hurt. It hurt a lot.”
The fact that Ring of Honor didn’t want Castle around if he wasn’t going to re-sign hurt the former world champion, but he was set on seeing things through and going out the right way.
“I remember, we were doing closed arena tapings. We were setting up a PPV match for me, against Josh Woods maybe, they said they had to film two finishes in case you don’t re-sign. I told them, ‘No, I’ll do the PPV! Regardless, I’ll stay and finish the job.’ But they didn’t want me,” Dalton Castle said. “The GM said ‘We’re not going to reward someone who’s not going to re-sign.’ No matter what I had done before that with the company. It was crushing, it hurt.
“I had spent 7 years there. Somehow, by happenstance, I worked my way up to one of those top guys that people look to as an example of how to act. So that day, I went around and I said all of my goodbyes. I went to my production friends, and went to all the wrestlers. I remember crying with Matt Taven in the back, just knowing it was all over. “
After going home and contemplating everything, Castle decided more money wasn’t worth losing his freedom and happiness in the process.
“I went home, and I couldn’t sleep. It just felt wrong. I was lying awake at night, thinking about all my friends who had gone to WWE and were telling me about what it was like,” Dalton Castle said. “And all I could think about was how happy and free I was at Ring of Honor versus what I was about to step into. I asked myself, ‘Why do I wanna go?’ Because you’ll be more famous. ‘Why do I wanna be famous?’ Because you’ll make more money.
“I was sitting on my patio in Tennessee, doing nothing, drinking my coffee, and I just realized, ‘Oh! I’ve already got money! I’ve got enough money. That’s not going to make me happy.’ So one night, in a panic, I woke up in a cold sweat, and woke my wife up and said, ‘I can’t go to WWE!’ And she goes, ‘Well, then don’t.’ It was like this weight lifted off of my shoulders and chest, and I could breathe again.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, you’re right!’. This woman, the reason I married her is because obviously she’s a genius. So I called them and said I can’t come right now, and Ring of Honor said I could stay. It didn’t feel like I was losing a negotiation, it felt like I WON. I was giving up a lot of money, but I was earning so much freedom and happiness. And also, this place that had told me no 7-10 years prior, I’m telling THEM no. It was a weird twist of fate.”
While Castle was thrilled by his decision, it wasn’t long until he got the news in October that Ring of Honor would be closing its doors at the end of 2021.
Despite everything, Castle said he was still in good spirits about his decision because he was happy to be part of Ring of Honor for as long as he was. Castle is now part of the relaunched Ring of Honor and he also made several appearances in All Elite Wrestling over the past year.
READ MORE: Dalton Castle: I’m Grateful For Tony Khan, AEW Makes The Wrestling World Better
What do you make of Dalton Castle’s comments? Could you imagine what Castle’s character would look like in WWE? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
