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Royce Keys’ backstory has been well-chronicled as he made his way to SmackDown.
The 6-foot-1, East Palo Alto, California, native started out grinding on the independent scene and worked his way up to All Elite Wrestling when his mother suffered a shocking fatal overdose in 2021. He kept pushing and kept working, knowing that his grandparents and the spirit of his mother was still with him as he made his WWE debut in 2026.
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Royce Keys looks on in the ring during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium at KAFD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
“I like to say I was born to be a professional wrestler and born to be in this business as a sports entertainer,” he told Fox News Digital. “So my grandparents moved from Mississippi to San Francisco and they lived right across the street from the Cow Palace. … I grew up hearing about ‘High Chief’ Peter Maivia, Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson, Kenji Shibuya, Pepper Gomez and so ever since I can remember anything, wrestling was one of my first memories. It’s brought a lot of joy, happiness and success to my life.”
Keys made his debut with the company as a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia. He eliminated one opponent before he was eliminated himself.
He said walking through the curtain was an experience like any other.
“For me, it was it was a huge test of new audience, new style, being so far away from home, I didn’t know what to expect. Probably one of the handful of times I’ve been nervous in my life,” he recalled. “But once I got to walk down that aisle, everything felt so natural, getting in the ring and just being there. All eyes on me so. It was definitely rewarding. You ever get that feeling like you were meant to do something? I had that feeling then.”
Keys was off-screen for a bit as he worked to get his feet underneath him in a WWE ring.
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Royce Keys looks on during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
After working a few dark matches, Keys defeated Berto in his first SmackDown appearance. He then appeared in and won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the night before WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
He said he’s bringing a certain X-factor that makes him standout among other big men on the roster.
“I think intensity, intimidation, fear, you know, when I am in the ring, I tend to get straight to the point. I believe the certain things I do in the ring, not only to the people in the arenas kinda go, ‘Ohh,’ they feel it but people at home feel that as well through their TV screens,” he said. “It’s just a lot of domination. I think my life, everything that I’ve been through in my life has set me up for this point and I intend to be that monster, or I like to say, as we say in the hood, I’d like to be that ‘monstar’ that’s going to change, help or elevate the game.”
Keys said he will be bringing the pain to his opponents as he looks to get into the title picture – whether it’s the Undisputed WWE Championship or the United States Championship.
“I think all of the above,” he told Fox News Digital. “I have one motto that I’ve been living by since I was a kid and that was being taught by the OGs and a lot of the guys out here (in the Bay Area) – I take everything I want. Anything I want to take or I see, I’m gonna take it whether it’s championships, or whether it’s hurting people, whether it’s dominating the SmackDown brand and dominating who else wants to come over, going to another brand and dominating over there. My life has put me in this position and everything that I’ve went through in my life has put me to this point and I don’t think there’s anybody that could stop me.”
Royce Keys competes against Berto during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Melina Pizano/WWE)
Keys will be a mainstay on the SmackDown roster every Friday night.
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It will be intriguing to see who steps up to the challenge and which wrestlers will fall to his powerful force.