WWE star Royce Keys talks about his debut and his goals for the SmackDown roster

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Royce Keys’ backstory has been well-told as he came to SmackDown.

The 6-foot-1 East Palo Alto, California native began working on the independent scene and made his way to All Elite Wrestling when his mother suffered a shocking fatal overdose in 2021. He continued to push and work, knowing that his grandparents and his mother’s spirit were still with him when he made his WWE debut in 2026.

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Royce Keys looks on in the ring during the WWE Royal Rumble at the Riyadh Season Stadium at KAFD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

“I like to say that I was born to be a professional wrestler and I was born to be in this business as a sports entertainer,” he told Pak Gazette Digital. “So my grandparents moved from Mississippi to San Francisco and lived right across the street from the Cow Palace… I grew up hearing about ‘Big Boss’ Peter Maivia, Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson, Kenji Shibuya, Pepper Gomez and for as long as I can remember, wrestling was one of my first memories. It has brought a lot of joy, happiness and success to my life.”

Keys made her debut with the company as a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. He eliminated an opponent before being eliminated himself.

He said walking through the curtain was an experience like any other.

“For me, it was a big test of a new audience, a new style, being so far from home that I didn’t know what to expect. Probably one of the few times I’ve felt nervous in my life,” he recalled. “But once I walked down the aisle, it all felt so natural, walking into the ring and just being there. All eyes on me. It was definitely rewarding. Did you ever have that feeling that you were meant to do something? I had that feeling then.”

Keys was off-screen for a moment as she worked to get to her feet beneath him in a WWE ring.

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Royce Keys looks on during SmackDown at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

After working some dark matches, Keys defeated Berto in his first appearance on SmackDown. He then appeared and won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal the night before WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.

He said he is bringing a certain X factor that makes him stand out among other big men on the roster.

“I think the intensity, the intimidation, the fear, you know, when I’m in the ring, I tend to get right to the point. I think certain things that I do in the ring, not only for the people in the arenas who say, ‘Ohh,’ they feel it, but the people at home feel it through their television screens as well,” he said. “It’s just a lot of domination. I think my life, everything I’ve been through in my life has prepared me for this point and I intend to be that monster, or I like to say, as we say in the neighborhood, I would like to be that ‘monster’ that is going to change, help or elevate the game.”

Keys said she will bring pain to her opponents as she looks to enter the title match, whether it be the WWE Undisputed Championship or the United States Championship.

“I think all of the above,” he told Pak Gazette Digital. “I have a motto that I’ve lived by since I was a kid and that was taught to me by the OGs and a lot of the guys here (in the Bay Area): I take whatever I want. Anything I want to take or see, I’ll take, whether it’s championships, or whether it hurts people, whether it’s dominating the SmackDown brand and dominating who else wants to come, going to another brand and dominating there. My life has put me in this position and everything I’ve been through in my life has led me to this point and I don’t think I There is no one who can stop me.”