Dalton Castle Recalls Feeling 'Crushed' Following WWE Tryout

While it's great to have dreams, the reality is that sometimes those dreams can be a nightmare. For instance, in professional wrestling, many people have aspirations to make it to WWE. But when they finally get there, it isn't everything they imagined it would be, which was the case for a young Dalton Castle.

In an interview with "WrestleJoy," Castle revealed that his WWE tryout in 2013 or 2014 was a hellish experience. While he initially felt great about his chances of making the cut and debuting with FCW, it was the third day that really soured things. With promos on the agenda, the former Ring of Honor Champion was confident in his abilities due to his experience in radio. However, his wardrobe choice that day was the jumping-off point for a barrage of negative feedback.

"They just dressed me down the second I stopped talking," he said. "They didn't say one positive thing about the way I talked. They just s**t 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."

The tryout left "The Party Peacock" absolutely "crushed." But after a few months, a text to Rhett Titus changed everything for Castle. After feeling like he was simply "going through the motions," he was introduced to ROH and his passion for wrestling was reignited. After seven years of dedication to ROH, WWE offered him a contract in 2021, but he re-signed with ROH and continues to be a fixture in the new era of Ring of Honor to this day.