Reason Behind Royce Keys’ WWE TV Disappearance After Royal Rumble

Royce Keys’ absence from WWE television since the Royal Rumble may not be random — it could be tied to bigger WrestleMania shifts.

After making an impact with his surprise entry at No. 14 in the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble and eliminating Damian Priest before getting dumped by Bronson Reed, many expected WWE to quickly follow up. Instead, Keys hasn’t appeared on television since. Now there’s a reason why.

During a Q&A session on February 16, 2026, WrestleVotes explained that WWE originally had plans in place for Keys coming out of the Rumble — but shifting WrestleMania creative changed the trajectory. WrestleVotes then detailed how broader card adjustments affected that direction.

“I do believe the program we end up getting is Damian Priest and Royce Keys, going back to the Royal Rumble. But if you’re changing the top of the card, that means the bottom or middle part of the card is up for grabs. They had an idea to do Damian Priest and Keys coming out of the Rumble. We talked about the meeting they had—there are still a lot of matches up in the air, and that’s one they reconsidered. That’s the reason Royce Keys hasn’t shown up.”

WrestleVotes summed it up by pointing to the bigger picture: “There’s definitely a trickle-down effect right now with everything happening around WrestleMania.”

While Keys did wrestle a dark match against Nathan Frazer before the February 13 edition of SmackDown, he has yet to appear on televised programming since his Rumble debut. If the reported plans still materialize, Keys vs. Priest could still happen — but for now, it appears creative changes are the main reason fans haven’t seen him back on TV.

Do you still want to see Royce Keys vs. Damian Priest, or should WWE pivot to something bigger for him? Sound off in the comments.

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