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Trying to get into a company like WWE is never easy. But one of AEW and Ring of Honor's most popular stars has revealed that he felt crushed while attempting to make his way into the Stamford-based promotion.
The star in question is Dalton Castle, a man who oozes positivity whenever he's on screen. This has made him one of ROH's most decorated performers of all time.
Castle is a former ROH World, Television, and Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He has also made sporadic appearances on AEW programming, with his most high-profile match coming against Chris Jericho in October 2022.
So what went wrong for Dalton Castle during his WWE tryout? Speaking on the Wrestlejoy podcast, the former ROH World Champion detailed how a promo class ended with some of his heroes ripping him apart.
“They just dressed me down the second I stopped talking. They didn’t say one positive thing about the way I talked. They just shit on me for wearing flip-flops. Seven men that I looked up to, that I grew up watching and respecting, they were just running me down. I think the only person who didn’t say something mean and was just kind of nice was Dusty Rhodes. That was something, that’s kind of nice."
Castle even went as far as to say that he even considered quitting the business as he didn't take any bookings after his failed tryout.
“That crushed me. I thought I was done. It was clear I wasn’t getting the job. I went home, and I thought it was over. I got to the top of the mountain and they said no. For three to four months, I was going through the motions of taking bookings and feeling like it was over." (H/T WrestleTalk)
Fortunately for Castle, his career took a turn for the better as Ring of Honor hired him after volunteering to help set up one of their events in New York.
Dalton Castle and The Boys were beaten convincingly on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite
While Dalton Castle might be enjoying his steady rise up the AEW roster since Tony Khan bought ROH in 2022, he still has a long way to go.
This was made abundantly clear on the March 29, 2023, edition of Dynamite when Castle and The Boys were booked to face the Blackpool Combat Club in a trios match.
However, the bout was over before it started, as Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta jumped their opponents from behind.
The official time for the match came in at just under a minute, but the beating lasted much longer. Castle and The Boys have not been seen on AEW programming since the contest.
Do you want to see Dalton Castle on TV AEW more often? Let us know in the comments section below.
