WWE star Royce Keys speaks for the first time, goals for the SmackDown roster

Royce Keys’ backstory is well documented as he goes to SmackDown.

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

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“I like to say that I was born to be a wrestler and I was born to be in this business as sports entertainment,” he told Fox News Digital. “So my grandparents moved from Mississippi to San Francisco and lived across the street from the Cow Palace. … I grew up hearing about ‘High King’ Peter Maivia, Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson, Kenji Shibuya, Pepper Gomez so ever since I can remember anything, wrestling was one of my first memories. It brought me so much joy, happiness and success in my life.”

Keys made his first appearance for the company as a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia. He eliminated one opponent before he was eliminated.

He said walking through the curtain was an experience like no other.

“For me, it was a big test of a new audience, a new style, being so far from home, I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe one of the few times I’ve been nervous in my life,” he recalled. “But when I got down there, everything felt natural, getting in the ring and just being there. All eyes on me like that. It was really rewarding. Do you ever get that feeling like you were meant to do something? I had that feeling at that moment.”

Keys has been off screen for a while as he works to get his feet under him in a WWE ring.

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Royce Keys looks on during SmackDown at the 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 and won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal the night before WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.

He said he brings a certain X-factor that makes him stand out among the other big men on the list.

“I think the tension, the intimidation, the fear, you know, when I’m in the ring, I usually get straight to the point. I believe that certain things that I do in the ring, not only for people in the arenas who say, ‘Ohh,’ they feel it but people at home feel that through their TV screens,” he said. “Just a lot of dominance. I think my life, everything I’ve been through in my life has set me to 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 monster’ that’s going to change, help or elevate the game.”

Keys said he will bring pain to his opponents as he looks to get into the ring – either the Undisputed WWE Championship or the United States Championship.

“I’m thinking all of the above,” he told Fox News Digital. “I have one motto that I’ve lived by since I was young and it was taught to me by the OGs and a lot of the guys here (in the Bay Area) – I take what I want. Whatever I want to take or what I see, I’ll take it whether it’s the Championship, whether it’s hurting people, whether it’s ruling a brand and ruling another brand and wanting to rule another brand Down. My life has put me in this situation and everything I’ve been through in my life has put me at this point and I don’t think that someone can stop me.”

Royce Keys vs. Berto during SmackDown at the 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 interesting to see who steps up to the challenge and which wrestlers will fall for his mighty powers.