Dalton Castle recalls a very hectic time in his life.
The former ROH World Champion looked back to 2021, when ROH was in a weird spot due to the pandemic and he had the option to go to WWE after his contract expired to make more money. Castle spoke on this topic during a recent interview with WrestleJoy.
Then, the pandemic happened. In 2021, my contract was expiring, and I was going to leave the company. 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.
Castle recalls feeling heartbroken at the time because ROH didn’t seem to want him and he new the end of an era was coming.
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. 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.
However, as the date grew closer for him to go to WWE Castle had a moment of clarity, and ultimately decided not to go to WWE.
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. 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.
Elsewhere in the interview, Castle spoke about new ROH Owner/AEW President Tony Khan, and how grateful he is that Khan gave so many wrestlers an alternative option. You can read about that here.