Royce Keys was not sitting waiting around; he was cooking the whole time.
Keys, formerly known as Powerhouse Hobbs, made his WWE on-air debut at the 2026 Royal Rumble. Despite his successful debut, Keys was not seen on television for several weeks afterward, prompting fan concern about his status.
The former AEW star was featured in some dark matches, but fans became more vocal as Keys’ TV absence continued. He posted a cryptic Tweet that had the WWE Universe asking what he was up to, and Keys revealed the meaning behind the “cooking” post.
“So man, I’ve been cooking since the Royal Rumble. There was no layoff for me, there was no sitting at home,” Keys told WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard. “It was a grind. There’s been some leaks about dark matches that I’ve done, and those dark matches, the ones that people know about, there’s more.
“I was doing darks on Raw and SmackDown every week up until my debut. There was no sitting around. It was a grind,” he continued. “I’m up there cooking. It got me real accustomed to this new style, to WWE. The GIF says it all. I was cooking with that seasoning mix. It was kind of me letting everybody know that I’ve been cooking here.”
Royce Keys is taking what he wants
Hobbs ultimately made his WWE SmackDown debut three days after the mysterious GIF, picking up a win over Berto. A week later, he won the 2026 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. As for what’s next, Keys said that he plans to “continue taking everything I want and being that last man standing in the ring. Hand raised in the air.”
Keys says the biggest difference between “Powerhouse Hobbs” and his current persona is that now, he gets to share his whole story. From his rough upbringing to what he can do in the ring, Keys says he’s bringing everything to the forefront in WWE.
He previously shared some details about his life on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, and now wants to be a source of motivation to those who might have a similar story.
“The way I grew up, everybody in that neighborhood kind of grew up the same, you know what I’m saying? I’m pretty sure there’s people out there in the world that has a story similar [and] wants to share it. Hopefully, I can be that motivation to them. But also, man, just telling my story, I don’t play. I’m taking this serious where I’m at here in WWE. I’m here to make a name for myself here to be a Hall of Famer one day. My story, I feel it needs to get out there for the audience to know who I am and more about me.”
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