Former AEW Star Powerhouse Hobbs Debuts As Royce Keys During WWE Royal Rumble

The rumors are true. Powerhouse Hobbs — now known as Royce Keys — is now in WWE.

The 2026 Men's Royal Rumble was full of surprises, but the night's fourteenth entrant sent Riyadh out of their seats. The ex-AEW performer took to the ring Saturday, preceded by a titantron display of his former alias going up in smoke, to lay waste to WWE's finest competitors, and while he did not outlast 29 other men to secure his WrestleMania ticket, his high-profile appearance confirmed two weeks' worth of rampant speculation.

Keys wasted little time when he entered the Rumble. He immediately gunned for Damian Priest, and scored a huge elimination when he sent the former WWE World Champion over the top rope. Keys then locked up with Je'Von Evans, one of WWE's hottest NXT exports, before former WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes demanded his attention. Rhodes, the trailblazer for AEW talent looking to jump ship to WWE, continued to lock up with Hobbs throughout the night, though Hobbs was also seen interacting with stars like Ilja Dragunov. Keys was ultimately eliminated by the joint efforts of The Vision, with Bronson Reed officially being the man credited for his elimination.

Keys is most known for his work in AEW, where he, as Powerhouse Hobbs, won the AEW Trios Championship alongside Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata as "The Opps." Keys' AEW contract expired on January 14 — interestingly, the same day he wrestled his last AEW match, where he lost his Trios Championship to the team of JetSpeed and "Hangman" Adam Page. As of writing, it is unclear what brand Hobbs will be featured on, once he makes it to weekly WWE broadcasts. While he would sensibly go to "NXT," he was seen interacting with main stars and members of AAA during his time in the Rumble.