Dalton Castle On Why He Picked ROH Over TNA, How TNA Officials Responded
On episode 365 of The Art Of Wrestling, pro wrestling podcast pioneer Colt Cabana sat down in his studio? apartment with ROH star Dalton Castle. Among other things, Castle talked about deciding to sign with ROH instead of GFW, the then-TNA pro wrestling promotion.
Prior to signing with ROH in 2013, Castle was offered a contract by GFW. According to Castle, picking ROH over GFW was a tough decision, as one option was not a good living, and the other option was a fine salary, but not where he wanted to be. Moreover, 'The Party Peacock' went with ROH because they were not going to creatively stifle him.
"I did [have a choice between ROH and GFW]. Did I [pick ROH over GFW]? Did I ever? No. I did. I 100% did. It was [a hard process to go through]. Am I too far? Alls we want to do is make a living doing this and I go so long with no offers, nothing, like it's never going to happen, and, suddenly, two offers are on the table and one of them, one of them was not a living, and the other one, I mean, it was a decent salary, but it wasn't the place I felt like I wanted to be and I didn't have the best experience. Everyone was super nice, but I just didn't feel? [Cabana knows] Ring Of Honor is kind of hands-off when it comes to your character and creativity. I didn't feel like that was going to happen down there [at GFW]."
Castle says he knew he made the right decision when he received calls from GFW officials telling him that he made a mistake.
"I told them in the most professional way possible. It's not like I just said, 'nah!' I called them and explained to them my case. Right, it felt like I was breaking up with somebody. I got phone calls from people telling me I was making a big mistake from that office. I don't feel like I made a mistake. But, at that time, they were really trying to make me feel regretful. And that almost solidified my decision-making, like, 'why would I want to work for somebody who wants to hurt me just because you can't give me what I need, so you're telling me I'm making a mistake?'"
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Source: The Art Of Wrestling