Tony Khan addresses Powerhouse Hobbs‘ recent departure from AEW.
Last month, Powerhouse Hobbs officially exited All Elite Wrestling, leaving behind a reign as AEW TNT Champion and World Trios Champion. Days later, he made his WWE debut by entering the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble under the name of Royce Keys.
While speaking with YoJoshMartinez, AEW CEO Tony Khan commented on Hobbs’ move from AEW to WWE.
“Well, I think Powerhouse Hobbs had a great run here in AEW,” Khan said. “He started wrestling here in Jacksonville, where I am now, and had some great matches and became a champion in AEW. We were just talking about the TNT Champion. He’s a former TNT Champion, former World Trios Champion in this run here. I’ll always wish him all the best.”
In his final AEW match, Hobbs unsuccessfully defended the AEW World Trios Championships alongside The Opps on the January 17 edition of AEW Collision. Together, Hobbs, Samoa Joe, and Katsuyori Shibata held the titles for over 270 days.
During his Royal Rumble outing, Hobbs survived nearly ten minutes before being eliminated by The Vision’s Bronson Reed. To his own credit, Hobbs eliminated former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest from the match.
As of now, Hobbs’ immediate future in WWE, specifically which brand he will land on, is unclear. Should he join the NXT roster, he will reunite with familiar faces such as Ricky Saints, Shawn Spears, and Ethan Page, all of whom also previously worked in AEW. The same can be said for the WWE Raw and SmackDown brands, which feature the likes of CM Punk, Rusev, Jade Cargill, Cody Rhodes and Aleister Black.
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