Royce Keys details his WWE goals
Royce Keys has ambitious goals now that he’s arrived in WWE.
The former Powerhouse Hobbs made his WWE debut in the 2026 Royal Rumble. Being part of WWE is a dream come true for Keys, and he intends to make his mark in the company. Becoming a WWE Hall of Famer is his ultimate goal.
“I got so many goals I want to do here,” Keys said during an interview on Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story?” podcast. “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.
“And the moment I had talks about coming here and signing here, like, this isn’t a one-off. This isn’t me, like, ‘Hey, I’m a WWE Superstar now. Let me gloat.’ And no, I still have to work. It took me years to get here. Like, this ain’t — I mean, yeah, okay, honeymoon phase is over. Let’s get with it. Let’s do work. 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 his introduction at the Royal Rumble was bigger than he ever could have imagined. But he knows that he still has plenty more left to do. He plans on staying with WWE through the end of his in-ring career and then potentially shifting to a backstage role.
“I’m not satisfied with this. I love it, it’s a great introduction,” he said. “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.”
Before joining WWE, Keys spent nearly six years with AEW and was a TNT Champion and Trios Champion for that promotion. We haven’t seen him on Raw or SmackDown since his debut, but Keys defeated Nathan Frazer in a dark match prior to SmackDown last Friday. Damian Priest could make sense as Keys’ first WWE feud given that Keys eliminated him from the Rumble.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.