Major positive update on Royce Keys’ WWE status

After his celebrated and championship-filled AEW run from 2020 to 2026, Powerhouse Hobbs left Tony Khan’s wrestling promotion to jump ship and join WWE. Just a few days after losing his AEW World Trios titles on AEW Collision, Hobbs, now going by Royce Keys, made his shocking WWE debut at the 2026 Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

However, shortly after his WWE PLE debut, Keys disappeared from live television programming. Despite appearing on a podcast with Stephanie McMahon, Keys remained absent from weekly shows. Although he actively wrestled in SmackDown dark matches, a recently emerged report noted that despite his backstage appearances, they had no idea about Keys’ storyline progress in the promotion.

However, just days after the previous update, PWInsider recently noted that Keys was getting “acclimated” to WWE production. He is reportedly adjusting to how WWE production operates. According to PWInsider’s source, Keys’ on-screen absence is due to WWE preparing him for his television run.

Following his Royal Rumble debut, Keys has wrestled three dark matches on Friday Night SmackDown against former champions Nathan Frazer, Chris Sabin, and Alex Shelley, winning each one of them.

Royce Keys gets honest about his WWE debut

A few days ago, while appearing on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, Royce Keys opened up in detail about his much-awaited WWE Royal Rumble debut on Jan. 31, 2026.

“This was a h**l of an introduction. Better than what I imagined it was gonna be. I knew it was gonna be big, but it was better than what I thought it was gonna be. This isn’t it, I got so much more to give. I wanna entertain more.”

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