Royce Keys sets the record straight about his absence from WWE television after the 2026 Royal Rumble
While speaking to The Ringer, Royce Keys addressed his absence from WWE television after the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE…
“I was not in the bullpen. So, it’s been out there that I had some dark matches, right?
I think maybe like seven or eight of them have been mentioned, like my opponents. It was more than that. I probably had maybe 12 or 13 dark matches. And what people don’t know is I was doing dark matches on Raw and SmackDown. That was all the way up to my debut.
So, that’s been a little over two months—doing that, grinding, learning, getting experience in front of different crowds. Two different crowds a week, you know what I’m saying? Getting accustomed to the WWE life.
It’s one of those things—I asked if I could do these dark matches because I wanted to get those reps in. By the time I got on TV, I wanted to be like a fresh pair of pants, you know, with the starch in them—crispy. Heavy on the starch, baby.
That’s what I wanted to do. And I’m thankful that I got to do those darks. You’ve got people saying, ‘Oh, he’s just not doing anything.’ No—it’s a grind being here. Just because you don’t see somebody on TV doesn’t mean they’re not grinding.
I’m from the Bay. I’m from the hood, from the slums—East Palo Alto, the concrete jungle. I know how to grind. So you kind of have to bump that noise out of your ear.”
Keys also commented on the reaction to his departure from AEW…
“That’s my past. If I focus on my past, I’m not going to succeed in my future.
It was cool—I sat down with Hunter [Triple H] and asked him if I could do these dark matches. He looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, f*ck yeah. Why not?” Like, ‘this dude wants to get it.’
I want to learn. I want to be here. But all that past stuff—I’m grateful for it, but it’s not going to define what I’m about to do.
Your past sets you up for your future.”