Royce Keys, formerly known as Powerhouse Hobbs, has shared more about the reasons behind his AEW departure, but he says some of the reasons will stay private. While personal factors played a part, he said the biggest reason was finally getting the chance to live his childhood dream of becoming a WWE star.
Keys left the company earlier this year before making a surprise appearance in the 2026 Royal Rumble. Since joining WWE, he has settled in quickly and is now getting ready for his first SummerSlam. Speaking with Baby Huey of 107.7 The Bone, Keys looked back at the decision that changed his career.
Royce Keys says WWE was always the dream
When asked why he left AEW, Keys said there were several personal reasons that he doesn’t want to talk about publicly. However, he made it clear that joining WWE had always been his biggest goal.
“There’s a lot of personal ones that I won’t speak on, but, you know, the dream is always to be a WWE Superstar. It’s all I dreamed about as a kid and I will never live my life as to having ‘what ifs.’ ‘What if I did this? What if I would’ve went? What if I didn’t go?’ There was no second thought about putting pen to paper when that opportunity came up,” Keys said.
Keys also said that he would rather take the opportunity than look back later and wonder what might have been. Also, WWE wasn’t just another job offer.
“You look at what WWE is. It’s the all-in, the all and be all of professional wrestling and sports entertainment. So, why wouldn’t I want to go? I felt like LeBron James right now in free agency, you know what I’m saying? It was one of those things like, well, this is what I always wanted. The opportunity’s here. Let’s see what we make out of it. And I will always put 10 toes down and 100%, seven days a week, always bet on myself,” Keys added.
Even though Royce Keys was excited to join WWE, he admitted that leaving AEW wasn’t easy because of the friendships he made there. But in the end, he had to make the decision that was best for his future.
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