Royce Keys remembers exactly what people were saying when his jump from AEW to WWE didn’t immediately turn into a major television run. Now that things have changed in a pretty big way, he’s more than happy to be petty about it.
Speaking to HOT 97, Keys was asked about the criticism he received after leaving his previous company. There were people questioning whether he had made the wrong move when he wasn’t immediately featured on WWE television, but Keys said he never shared those doubts.
“Oh, yeah. I’m petty. I like rubbing stuff in your face when you don’t believe in me or when you’ve done me wrong. So it’s like I’ve always believed in my ability.”
These days, Keys has a much bigger platform to do exactly that. He’s become a regular part of Monday Night RAW alongside The 946, giving him the opportunity to prove himself in front of a completely different audience. There’s also a deeply personal side to the version of Keys fans are seeing on television. He explained that his character pulls heavily from growing up in California, including inspiration from his late older brother and the people his grandmother tried to keep him away from.
“I’m acting like my older brother, you know, RIP. I’m acting like the people my grandma tried to keep me away from. Like, everything you see is me turned up. It’s me watching people, how I grew up. So that’s just me bringing East Palo Alto, East Oakland to the mainstream.”
Keys clearly kept the receipts from those early days when people were already questioning whether leaving AEW had backfired. Now that he’s found his place on RAW, he isn’t interested in pretending those comments never happened — if anything, proving those people wrong seems to be making the ride that much sweeter.
Do you think Royce Keys has already proven the people who questioned his move to WWE wrong, or is the best part of his run still ahead? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
