Royce Keys has explained the real reason behind his absence from WWE television between his Royal Rumble debut and his SmackDown debut last Friday — and it was entirely his own idea. Speaking with Sam Roberts on SiriusXM, Keys revealed he pitched the concept of working dark matches to Triple H as a way to get properly acclimated to the WWE environment before making his television debut.
“I asked Hunter and he agreed, if I could do these darks. Like, who wouldn’t want to wrestle in front of a live crowd, open up the show, get everybody ready, get it going in two different cities a week. I did Raw and SmackDown every week until my debut,” Keys said. He also acknowledged that the online negativity about his absence got to him momentarily before veteran counsel helped him refocus. “It got under my skin for a hot second, and I had Hunter, Bobby Roode, Cody, Randy — I have a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t let that sh*t bother you, because they don’t know what you’re doing.'”
Royce Keys Says His SmackDown Debut Felt as Comfortable as Tying His Shoes After Weeks of Dark Match Preparation
The strategy clearly worked. By the time Keys defeated Berto in his SmackDown debut on April 10, the preparation had made the moment feel entirely natural. “I was totally comfortable Friday, the debut. I was comfortable. I was with it. Just like getting up, putting on your shoes, tying your shoes. Like, I was comfortable doing it.” Keys was also produced in a WWE video package discussing the adversity he has overcome in his life — an indication that the company is investing in his character’s emotional connection with audiences from the start.