When Royce Keys made his surprise debut at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, it was a massive moment, but the former AEW star says it’s only the beginning.
Formerly known as Powerhouse Hobbs, Keys officially joined WWE on January 31 under his new name. During the Rumble match, he eliminated Damian Priest and instantly caught attention. He hasn’t appeared on weekly TV yet, but he did wrestle Nathan Frazer in a dark match before a February episode of SmackDown.
Now that he is signed full-time, Keys says just getting to WWE isn’t enough.
Royce Keys Says His WWE Success Impacts More Than Just Him
In an interview on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, Keys said the Royal Rumble was a milestone, not the end goal. He wants much more.
He said he plans to win championships, become a legend, make the Hall of Fame, and be remembered as one of the most dominant and feared stars in WWE.
“I got so many goals I want to do here. I want to become a champion. I want to become a legend. I want to be in the Hall of Fame. I want to be remembered as one of the most dominant and feared competitors. Like, what I’ve dreamed of,” he said.
For Keys, this is bigger than just name and fame. He said he has people depending on him, and that motivates him to work even harder. The WWE star made it clear that failure isn’t an option because others rely on him. In his words, the “honeymoon phase” is over, and now it’s time to get to work.
“And the moment I had talks about coming here and signing here, this isn’t a one-off. This isn’t me like, ‘Hey, I’m a WWE superstar now, let me gloat.’ No, I still have to work. It took me years to get here…okay, honeymoon phase is over. Let’s get with it. Let’s do work. Like, I got people that depend on me. I got people that I can’t let down. I got people I take care of. So if I fail, they don’t eat. And I’m not about to have that on my conscience and shoulders. There’s no excuse,” Keys said.
Even though he described his Royal Rumble debut as better than he imagined, he said he’s not satisfied. He wants to build a long career in WWE and maybe even help the company in other roles down the road.
“I’m making my dreams come true. And I tell people…I’m not satisfied with this. I love it. It’s a great introduction. I love it, but I plan on rewriting things and being here until I say, you know what, I think I want to step away. I want to help this company out in a different way, whether it’s backstage or whatever. I have goals and plans,” he stated.
Before WWE, Keys spent around six years in AEW. He won the TNT Championship and later the AEW World Trios Titles as part of The Opps.
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