Brett Giehl (born March 4, 1986), better known by the ring name Dalton Castle, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a one-time ROH World Champion, a one-time ROH World Television Champion, and a former three-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He is also known for his tenure in Chikara, where he wrestled under the ring names Ashley Remington and Dalton Caroline Castle.
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Early and personal life
Giehl was born in Greece, New York. As a child, he loved professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage, with other favorites including Curt Hennig, Davey Boy Smith, and Frank Gotch. Giehl wrestled more than 10 years from middle school to college, representing the Greece Athena High School Trojans in 2003 and winning a varsity wrestling tournament in the 171 pound weight class in 2004. He attended the State University of New York at Cortland, receiving a degree in communications and theater.
Giehl was an amateur and NCAA wrestler, winning a New York championship in Greco-Roman wrestling and competing three times on the NCAA All-State Team. He was also a member of Team USA, traveling internationally for the World Championships. In 2010, he attained a second championship at the Beach National, winning 1st place in the 215 lb division representing Livonia WC.
After graduating, Giehl worked as a disc jockey in Albany, New York. In 2011, Giehl was an emcee for WZNE in Rochester, New York under the name The Giehl. During his tenure at the station, he interviewed fellow professional wrestler Kurt Angle. Giehl went on to work for WQBK-FM from 2011 until 2014, hosting a five-hour afternoon slot on the radio under the Dalton Castle moniker. Beginning January 2012, the company's YouTube channel hosted a series called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Tights where Castle interviewed professional wrestlers. His guests included Brodie Lee, Velvet Sky, CM Punk, Matt Hardy, and Dean Ambrose.
Giehl is married as of 2015.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2009–2015)
During 2009 in Next Era Wrestling (held in The Auditorium Center in Rochester, New York) after defeating Brett Mednik (April 18) and Brandon Thurston (June 20) he unsuccessfully challenged Josh Jordan (the Northeastern Champion) on July 18 but they later team together.
On August 2, 2009, he defeated Marc Krieger at an Empire State Wrestling (ESW) event, preceding an August 15 loss to Bobby Fish.
Castle spent one year with ESW until he left the promotion.
In May and June 2010, he had two title matches against Krieger for the Northeastern Championship, losing the first and winning the second by disqualification.
In 2011, Castle returned to ESW, where he and his partner Will Calrissian won the ESW Tag Team Championship by defeating The Rochester Wrecking Crew (Hellcat and Rob Sweet) at ESW WrestleBash.
They held it 238 days until June 1, 2013, when it was dropped to The Flatliners (Asylum and Matt Burns) at ESW Aftershock. However, the team broke up afterward.
In November 2011 Castle worked with International Wrestling Cartel (IWC), where he won the IWC World Heavyweight Championship on December 14, 2013.
He lost the title on January 24, 2015, to RJ City in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania.
Dalton is the second longest reigning IWC World Heavyweight Champion, having held the title 406 days.
On May 9, 2015, he faced Tommy Dreamer for the title in a four-way elimination match that also included RJ City and Justin LaBar, but was defeated.
Chikara (2013–2015)
While Wrestling one of his Intense's final on September 15, 2013, Darkness Crabtree's match with Jervis Cottonbelly went to a no contest after the reformed GEKIDO attacked and tore down the show, with Gekido ultimately "killing off" Crabtree.
In a series of videos titled "Rough Waters" posted to Chikara's YouTube channel, it was revealed that Crabtree left a will granting a great deal of money to his kayfabe nephew Dalton "Caroline" Castle, causing Castle to alter his image to that of a wealthy yachtsman and adopt the new name of Ashley Remington.
Remington's debut match in Chikara was on May 25, 2014, at You Only Live Twice, where he defeated Chuck Taylor.
He would become quite popular with Chikara fans over the duration of that season, and would end the year with a successful victory over Juan Francisco de Coronado, in a German suplex match.
In 2015, Remington joined The Battle Hive with Amasis, Fire Ant, and Worker Ant. He also gained his third point for title contention in 2015, and at the Anniversario event in May, he challenged Grand Champion Hallowicked in a losing effort.
Ring of Honor / All Elite Wrestling (2013–present)
Dalton Castle debuted in Ring of Honor (ROH) at Dragon's Reign on May 11, 2013, by taking on Jimmy Nutts. The match abruptly ended when Rhett Titus attacked both men. At Future of Honor #2, Castle participated in a gauntlet match, losing to Bobby Fish.
On the January 31, 2015 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Castle made his televised debut in ROH. He was accompanied by The Boys (dubbed "Boy 1" and "Boy 2") and competed in the Top Prospect Tournament, losing to Ashley Six in the first round. On the March 21 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, the tournament winner Donovan Dijak opted to give up his shot at the ROH World Television Championship against Jay Lethal to instead join The House of Truth, prompting Castle to challenge Lethal for the title, which Lethal accepted. However, Castle failed to win due to interference by Dijak and J. Diesel. This led to a match between Castle and Dijak on the April 18 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, which Castle lost due to interference by Truth Martini.
On the second night of Global Wars, Castle lost to Jushin Liger in a match which he later described as his favorite. After a win over Romantic Touch on the May 29 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Castle challenged Silas Young to a match at Best in the World to prove Young's claim of "Last Real Man of Professional Wrestling" wrong. Castle went on to defeat Young at the event, marking the former's pay-per-view debut. However, an enraged Young attacked one of Castle's Boys after the match. After a win over Takaaki Watanabe on the July 8 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Castle lost to Adam Cole at Death Before Dishonor XIII.
Castle continued his rivalry with Young wanting to take his Boys and make them "real men". At Field of Honor, Castle competed in a gauntlet match to earn an opportunity for the World Television Championship. He eliminated Hangman Page and Frankie Kazarian, before being eliminated by Young. At All Star Extravaganza VII, Castle competed against Young in a match which stipulated that if Young won, he would get The Boys, while if Young lost, he would become one of Castle's Boys. Castle subsequently lost the match, with Young getting The Boys. At Glory By Honor XIV, Castle replaced an injured ACH on the team of ROH All-Stars
Moose and The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) against ROH Champions (Jay Lethal, Roderick Strong and The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) in an eight-man tag team match, which ROH Champions won. At Survival of the Fittest, Castle participated in the namesake tournament, facing Young and Adam Page in a three-way match in the opening round, which Young won by pinning Castle. Castle faced Young in another losing effort at Final Battle, but despite The Boys seemingly siding with Young in the weeks prior to the event, they rejoined Castle following the match. After losing to Hirooki Goto at 14th Anniversary Show, Castle concluded his rivalry with Young by defeating him in a Fight Without Honor, with help from The Boys, on the April 13 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling. This was the first Fight Without Honor to occur on the weekly television program, with previous editions taking place at pay-per-view events.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2015)
In 2015, Castle competed two nights for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on their television show Impact Wrestling.
On February 15 (aired May 6) at X-Travaganza 3, he was defeated in an Ultimate X qualifying match by Rockstar Spud.
Also, on February 16 at TNA Gut Check, he defeated DJ Z to qualify for a five-way elimination match later that night, losing in the second match to Tevita Fifita.
Professional wrestling style and persona
Castle's gimmick is that of a flamboyant showman with an androgynous personality, drawing comparisons to Gorgeous George, Adrian Street, Ric Flair, and Goldust. However, unlike those predecessors who have tended to portray villains, Castle typically plays a fan favorite. Castle has also mentioned glam rock stars David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, The Darkness, and Foxy Shazam as inspirations, in addition to Lady Gaga. Befitting the nickname of "The Power Peacock," he combines showmanship and flamboyance with strength and technical soundness, and has displayed an ability to suplex nearly any opponent, including Shane Taylor and Samoa Joe
Castle is frequently accompanied by shirtless, mask-wearing men referred to as his "Boys", who act as Castle's human furniture and fans Castle during his matches. The two most prominent "Boys" were portrayed by the Tate Twins until 2024.
Castle's signature moves include a belly-to-belly suplex, a German suplex, and the "Bang-A-Rang" (a spinning facebuster).
Championships and accomplishments
Empire State Wrestling
ESW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Will Calrissian
International Wrestling Cartel
IWC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 15 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
Ring of Honor
ROH World Championship (1 time)
ROH World Television Championship (1 time)
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Boy 1 and Boy 2 (2) and Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd (1)
Soaring Eagle Cup (2017)