WWE & AEW Backstage Reaction To Royce Keys' Royal Rumble Debut

Just a few weeks after his contract with All Elite Wrestling expired, Powerhouse Hobbs made his WWE debut as Royce Keys at the 2026 Royal Rumble.

The former Powerhouse Hobbs was the #14 entrant in the men's Rumble and he was in the match for just under 10 minutes, eliminating Damian Priest before Keys himself was sent over the top rope by The Vision trio of Logan Paul, Bronson Reed, and Austin Theory.

Fightful Select has reported the reaction within WWE to Keys' debut was very positive, while the former AEW TNT Champion's overall introduction to many on WWE's staff was considered positive too.

WRKD Wrestling noted that many backstage in AEW who were close to Keys were thrilled about his Royal Rumble debut.

"Powerhouse Hobbs, now Royce Keys, left AEW on great terms, with many backstage close to him thrilled about his jump and #RoyalRumble debut. Another note is that Keys, in time, won't be the last to make the move from AEW to WWE. No, not talking about Jericho," WRKD Wrestling tweeted.

Across his six-year run with AEW, Hobbs became a one-time TNT Champion and one-time AEW World Trios Champion as part of The Opps with Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata.

AEW reportedly offered the 34-year-old Bryan Danielson-level money to stay with the promotion, but Hobbs ultimately opted to jump ship to WWE.