‘You Can’t Really F Up’ – Royce Keys Addresses Family Origins Of WWE Name Change

WWE

Formerly known as Powerhouse Hobbs in AEW, Royce Keys has revealed his family-related WWE name is a motivating factor for him.

A member of the WWE SmackDown roster, Royce Keys made his debut in the Men’s Royal Rumble match back on January 31, having departed AEW earlier that month.

With his SmackDown debut taking place earlier this month, which saw a message of congratulations from Triple H, Keys has revealed the origin of his name lies in his family ties.

Speaking to Unseen with Joey Kami, Keys shared that part of his name comes from his real-life son, with the other coming from his late mother’s last name, saying:

“So it’s already out there, Royce is my middle son’s name so that’s my tribute to him. And Keys is part of my late mother’s last name.

“So put the two together it’s motivating to me, you can’t really f up when you got two people you love and care about, using their name, paying homage to them.” 

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Ahead of WrestleMania 42, Keys won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the April 17 episode of WWE SmackDown.

All The Keys To Success

As Powerhouse Hobbs, the star now known as Royce Keys held the AEW TNT Championship and was a former World Trios Champion, alongside Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata.

Finally arriving in WWE earlier this year, Keys had a past tryout back in 2016, and was also seen at the WWE Performance Center, taking part in a promo class in 2021, with the unsigned star going on to flank Dean Ambrose, now Jon Moxley, as an extra on screen.

Two attempts may have come up short previously, but there’s little doubt that under the current management, WWE has seen the star quality of Keys, despite using him sparingly on screen to date.

Mark Henry, himself a renowned heavyweight star, has described Keys as “a good one“, revealing he’s enjoyed what he’s seen of the star’s work in WWE in the victory over Berto on April 10.

Seeing Keys make his way to WWE after two past attempts shows that an unsuccessful tryout doesn’t close the door for the right star, and being kept off television after a major debut at the Royal Rumble is also no indication of a lack of faith from the decision makers.

Between his debut in January and first appearance on screen at WWE SmackDown, Keys wasn’t kept away from the ring, delivering an undefeated streak across nine untelevised dark matches against quality opponents including Rey Fenix, Rayo Americano (Pete Dunne), Brutus Creed, Berto, Nathan Frazer, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, the latter two of which were recently among the stars released from their contracts.

A seasoned veteran, having started his career in 2009, Keys joins WWE as a television-ready star in prime position to command championships on SmackDown.

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!

• wwe
• Smackdown
• Royce Keys

Share this article with friends