Dalton Castle Squawks About Final Battle 2016
Heading into Ring of Honor’s Final Battle event, Dalton Castle took some time out of his busy schedule to share his thoughts about his upcoming Grudge Match with his former tag team partner and cronie, Colt Cabana.
“We were tearing it up, we meshed together pretty well. One might look at the two of us and say I don’t know about that team being serious, but we were really really good. I thought we were thinking the same thing but apparently we were on way different wavelengths.”
Despite being fast friends and like-minded individuals, the team split apart. Castle, whoever, has no idea why Cabana chose to turn his back on him.
“I don’t know- I don’t know, I don’t read minds. I always thought that he was thinking about delicious submarine sandwiches and victories, but apparently there’s a a lot more going on up there. I wish I could tell you I knew why exactly he had this weird change of heart, but I can’t tell you why. I can tell you that the consequences will be dire for him.”
A week before the team imploded, Cabana urged Castle to leave the Boys behind, with a camera zooming in on feathered fans, the calling cards of Castle’s Boys, stuck in a door jab.
Regarding the incident with the Boys backstage Castle said “ That’s all alleged. I suspect that Mr. Cabana has something to do with the tomfoolery with my Boys, but I’m not going to lay blame to it until it can be proven. But I can say that he will pay for the stuff I do know that happened.”
Castle and Cabana teaming together meant the two spent time discussing strategy and observing each other’s styles, but Castle is steadfast in that he will approach this match just as he does any other.
“No different than I have approach any other match. I’m very well-trained and very musclely and I’m very strong. I didn’t ask for these muscles, but when I get in that ring it’s very clear that I am a very dangerous man. It’s shocking that Colt Cabana-he must know that or, for some reason, he has convinced himself otherwise and that’s why he’s feeling so confident.”
“I’ve gotta take care of Colt Cabana. The title of the match says it all. It’s a grudge. I owe Colt Cabana something and that’s what’s going to happen. I owe him a very good ass kicking as well as half a dozen suplexes-he might get more. Who knows how good he’s been this year, lets see how many suplexes he gets.”
Castle and Cabana earned a tag team title shot after winning a four corner survival tag team match against War Machine, Keith Lee and Shane Taylor, and The All-Night Express. With the title shot in their pockets, Cabana and Castle took part in Glory By Honor’s All Stars vs. Champions main event elimination match. The two teamed with The Briscoes to take on Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and The Young Bucks. When the competitors dwindled down to the Bucks squaring off with Cabana and Castle, the proud Peacock jumped the gun, cashing in the tag team title opportunity on the spot, despite the fatigue both he and his partner faced. The game proved costly, as The Bucks proved up to the task and Cabana was left to wonder if the opportunity had been squandered. Weeks after the unsuccessful title opportunity, Cabana and Castle rebounded, but something was amiss.
Cabana proposed an amicable split, even extending his hand, but Castle implored his partner to part with a hearty hug and would live to regret it, as Cabana kneed him below the belt, before attacking Castle’s Boys and using the very fans they used to re energize Castle to instead gash him across the face.
“How am I going to get back at him? What do you suggest? What do you think I should do? You sound like you want me to use the fans on him. Which by the way, would be breaking the rules and I don’t want to get DQ, I want to take this win with a clean victory. Fans are for fanning. They aren’t what he used them for.”
Although Castle competed at Final Battle last year, this go around has special meaning for him as ROH returns to the Hammerstein Ballroom, the site of many of its most memorable matches.
“I’m thrilled. The first time I watched a Final Battle from backstage at the Hammerstein, I felt like the company was on a different level. I was motivated, I was excited and I wanted to be part of Ring of Honor. It was seeing that at Hammerstein just from the very start- the opening music and the crowd- it motivated me to get into the position where I’m in in now. Once I got into Ring of Honor, we had lost the building. I stuck around long enough and kept doing well and now it’s full circle and I get my shot at it.”
Wrestling will be at the forefront of this excursion to New York City for Castle, but the Party Peacock admitted he will not be able to resist flying by one of his favorite haunts.
There’s a wonderful place in midtown that I like to go for brunch every now and then. So I’ll have to stop there and I’ll get a few mimosas and mini-quiches. Not too much because I’m wrestling later in the evening. New York is a hell of a town-I love it.
Earlier this year, Castle clashed with Bobby Fish and the two called brunch off in the throes of competitive rage. Castle assured though that the contentious period was all in the past.
“Despite the disagreements that Fish and I had in the past, Robert and I will certainly have brunch together. It’s kind of a tradition of ours. He likes to get a croissant- I’m more of a bagel kind of guy. You know we both enjoy brunch. We both have different matches and I’ll be watching him and I’m sure he’ll be watching me and then the next day we’ll get croissants and bagels.”
Castle rose to prominence into 2015 after debuting with ROH in 2013. A jaunty bedazzled love child of Liberace and James Brown escorted to the ring by two subservient feathered sidekicks, the self-professed Peacock incurred the wrath of Silas Young, the “Last Real Man” and lost the services of his flamboyant fan boys at All Star Extravaganza VII. The slow build from ridiculous showboat to accomplished in-ring combatant afforded Castle the opportunity to bring his in-ring work on par with his theatrical charismatic schtick. His androgynous persona harkens back to Gorgeous George and Adrian Adonis, captivating even fledgling fans with his theatrical machinations. But it is his athleticism that separates him from these superstars of yesteryear.
As 2016 draws to a close, Castle reflected on what he has accomplished and what the future holds for him.
“I’ve had a hell of year, it’s been the best wrestling year of my life. I’ve had television title opportunities, I’ve had tag team title opportunities I’ve been countries I’ve never been to before. Next year I want to double that. I want a title around my waist. I want to throw twice as many people over the guardrails into the fans. I’m sorry if anyone gets hurt, I apologize in advance-I didn’t ask for these muscles. 2017 is going to be the Year of the Peacock again again.”
But for now, he has one goal and one goal only: prepare for the match ahead of him.
“Listen, I’ve gotta go hit the steam room. I’ve gotta loosen up a little bit-these hammies are pretty tight and then I’ve got to hit the gym. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was this Peacock.”
Final Battle 2016 will begin at 9pm EST and is available on the Fite TV App, as well as ROHwrestling.com.
Be sure to visit Running Wild Podcast for the full interview.
