Tag: Royce Keys

Update on AEW offer to Powerhouse Hobbs before WWE Royal Rumble debut

Posted on by Ian Carey

The offer AEW gave to Powerhouse Hobbs before he signed with WWE was discussed on Wrestling Observer Radio by Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez.

Hobbs debuted for WWE as Royce Keys in the Royal Rumble on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He entered at number 11 and was eliminated after just under 10 minutes by Bronson Reed.

“I just want to clear some things up on the Hobbs thing. I don’t know the WWE offer. I know he got a five year offer from AEW,” Meltzer said on last night’s show.

In Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer wrote that the offer AEW gave to Hobbs would have been higher than what anyone but Chris Jericho made in the company in 2019. However, Meltzer noted that salaries in wrestling have jumped significantly in recent years, and the offer Hobbs was given now wouldn’t put him in the range of the top paid AEW stars.

“The standard of what guys are making in wrestling has just gone way, way, up, because of competition.”

“He got a very good offer. It was not like a top 10 offer in the company (AEW) or anything like but it was a good offer. Again, I don’t really know much more, I don’t know what the WWE offer was.“

Meltzer reiterated that WWE has been confident for some time that Hobbs would sign with them when his contract came due.

“I don’t think he was that interested in the AEW offer. I think he had already made up his mind. And I said this all along, in WWE, for a long time their belief was as soon as his contract is up he’s gone.”

The full episode of Wrestling Observer Radio is available here for subscribers.

AEW talent react to Royce Keys’ WWE debut on social media

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

The former Powerhouse Hobbs, now going by Royce Keys, made his shocking WWE debut at the 2026 Royal Rumble, which soon attracted reactions from multiple AEW talent.

As a part of the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble match, Keys appeared as the 14th entrant in the match and eliminated Damian Priest, before getting eliminated himself by Bronson Reed and The Vision.

He immediately made an impact upon his surprising WWE debut, to which several of his former AEW colleagues soon reacted on social media. Amada Huber, wife of the late wrestler Brodie Lee, reacted to Keys’ debut on social media, “THAT MY BEST FRIEND LETS GOOOOOOO.”

Darius Martin of AEW’s SkyFlight also reacted to Hobbs appearance, alongside multiple other names such as Wardlow and Kevin Knight. Interestingly, it was Knight who had pinned Hobbs in his last AEW match on January 14th, 2026, to win the AEW World Trios Championship.

Hobbs was a part of the AEW roster from 2020, where he stayed till 2026, successfully winning multiple titles, including the TNT Championship in 2023 and the AEW World Trios Championship.

WWE was long interested in signing Hobbs, and the 35-year-old finally joined the Stamford-based promotion after having negotiations with AEW.

Powerhouse Hobbs/Royce Keys debuts at WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on by Josh Nason

Weeks after departing AEW and signing with WWE, the former Powerhouse Hobbs made his debut at Saturday’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

The newly-named Royce Keys appeared during the men’s Rumble match at number 14, immediately squaring off with Damian Priest and eliminating him. He also tangled with former AEW roster mate Cody Rhodes which was alluded to on commentary. He was eventually eliminated by members of The Vision.

When Hobbs/Keys came out, his entrance video flashed the name ‘Powerhouse Hobbs’ before transitioning to his new name to signal the transition. It was later reported that Royce is the name of his youngest son while Keys was the maiden name of his late mother.

After five years, Hobbs/Keys finished up with AEW in mid-January, dropping the Trios titles on the January 17 AEW Collision episode that was taped the night news broke that his deal was expiring and he was expected to be heading to WWE.

Our Dave Meltzer reported that AEW made a push to re-sign the 35-year-old Hobbs to a substantial new contract, but Hobbs/Keys wanted to go to WWE instead — a place that had wanted him for quite some time according to reports.

The career of Hobbs/Keys began in 2009 on the California indie scene with his big break coming in the summer of July 2020 during the pandemic era of AEW at Daily’s Place.

New signee’s travel schedule leads to WWE Royal Rumble speculation

Posted on by Josh Nason

The men’s and women’s WWE Royal Rumble matches always feature surprise entrants with names like Chris Jericho being speculated on quite a bit over the last few months.

However, it’s Jericho’s former AEW rostermate Powerhouse Hobbs that is drawing attention for when he could make his WWE in-ring debut with one report leaning toward him potentially being in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

On Friday, Fightful Select reported that Hobbs, who will go by the name Royce Keys in his new promotional home, was scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia this week. However, they stated he did not travel over with the group that flew over after Monday’s Raw and there has yet to be reports of him in the country.

Hobbs/Keys was not on Friday’s SmackDown from Saudi Arabia.

The 35-year-old signed with WWE after five years in AEW where he was a former AEW Trios Champion and former TNT Champion. In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter and subsequent daily update, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW made “a very good offer” to keep Hobbs but wasn’t sure how much it was considered “as WWE believed he was coming for some time either way.”

AEW made a ‘much higher than expected’ offer to keep Powerhouse Hobbs

Posted on by Ian Carey

Powerhouse Hobbs received a big offer from AEW to remain in the company.

Dave Meltzer addressed Hobbs leaving AEW and signing with WWE in Friday’s edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available now for subscribers. Meltzer wrote that AEW’s offer to Hobbs was much higher than expected and later compared it to deals signed by top stars in recent years.

Meltzer wrote:

“He got a great AEW offer to stay but I don’t know his WWE offer. The AEW offer was much higher than I would have expected. It would have been a number that I believe would have been higher than anyone but Chris Jericho earned in AEW’s first year in 2019.”

Meltzer continued to compare the offer Hobbs received to what Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and others have made in recent years.

“It would be in line with what Bryan Danielson got to jump from WWE to AEW, maybe slightly less but in line. It would be more than guys the level Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were making four years ago (less than they are making now) and in the range of what a guy the level of Rollins were making around the same time and nearly triple of what many significantly high WWE stars were making in the first year or so of AEW after the first round of increases had taken place.”

“If WWE did offer him similar money, in theory it would guarantee a decent push,” Meltzer continued, although he noted that WWE will ultimately push the wrestlers who get over.

Hobbs will be using the name Royce Keys in WWE. He has a son named Royce as well. WWE filed to trademark the name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Hobbs turned 35 last Friday. He had been with AEW since 2020 and is a former TNT Champion and World Trios Champion in the promotion.

The full edition of this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available here for subscribers.

WOL: Jade is Jade, WWE in transition, SNME preview

Posted on by Jim Valley

On location from Portland, Oregon, it’s Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

With new talent like Trick Williams, Lash Legend and others being put in positions to learn from veterans and vets like AJ Styles preparing to exit, 2026 (maybe ’27, too) looks to be a year of transition in WWE.

It’s time to accept that Jade Cargill is who she is as an athlete. She’s been wrestling for nearly seven years.

We saw new Tag Team champions crowned and the build for Saturday Night’s Main Event on Smackdown.

The people who are criticizing Powerhouse Hobbs’s new WWE name lack creativity and vision. Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, Collision and more. Check it out.

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Powerhouse Hobbs’ WWE name revealed

Posted on by Ian Carey

According to a new report, Will “Powerhouse” Hobbs will have a new name in WWE.

BodySlam is reporting that Hobbs will be known as Royce Keys when he makes his WWE debut. In most cases, WWE talent pick their own names.

WWE filed to trademark “Royce Keys” for wrestling purposes on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Real name William Hobson, he has also wrestled previously under the names Will Rood, Will Hobbs, and Powerhouse Hobbs.

Dave Meltzer confirmed in today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Hobbs has signed with WWE. Speaking about Hobbs’ decision to sign with the company, Meltzer wrote:

“With his age, this was the time to make the move and generally, but not always, making the move either way gives you a fresh coat of paint and a jump start because the new company always wants to prove it can make you a bigger star than the old company did.”

Hobbs, who turned 35 on Friday, debuted with AEW in 2020 and is a former TNT Champion and World Trios Champion alongside Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata.