Dalton Castle on What It Means to be the ROH World Champion, Comparing American and Japanese Crowds

Ring of Honor Wrestling World Champion Dalton Castle recently spoke to PasteMagazine.com.

What it means to be the ROH World Champion:

"To me it means that I am objectively, right now, the greatest wrestler in the world. I've contested the people who've stood on top and right now I am the one who has proven to be the best. With that comes to me a lot of responsibility. I look at Ring of Honor with a lot of respect. It's a place I wanted to be a part of for a long time and I worked hard to get here, and I worked ever harder to get to this point in my career. It means a lot."

Inspiration for his wrestling attire:

"I don't have any specific titles I can give you but like the costumes in science fiction movies and TV shows from them, I just find so inspiring. Everybody in outer space in the '70s, for some reason, wore metallic jumpsuits, or had high collars. Jet skis that fly in the air, like in Flash Gordon, or something like that. That kind of stuff. When I look at costume designs, I start researching stuff like that. It's not easy to Google, when you've got something in your head that you saw once on TV late at night and you have no idea what film you're watching, but you start going down a wormhole of really fantastic stuff."

Japanese crowds versus American crowds:

"I've only been there three times. And each experience—here's how it differs. The wrestling is the same, because wrestling to me is universal. We all speak the same language in the ring. The fans are a little quieter, I think perhaps because there's a language barrier. But when we're there, especially with Ring of Honor, it's almost like the fans try their hardest to be like the American Ring of Honor crowd. They're louder than usual, they do the English chants, which is always shocking and very flattering.

But where it really differs is, when I get off the bus to the hotel, there are fans just waiting in the lobby for us, begging for autographs. I've never felt more like a star than when I'm in Japan. It's insane how excited they get when we come over. It's very great, a humbling experience that I can't describe. It's really amazing. Not to say American fans aren't great, too. They really are. But there, I think it's just because it's my once a year trip, but it's overwhelming and shocking. I'm on the other side of the planet, I didn't expect this many people to know who I am."