Royce Keys was nervous before making his WWE debut.
Very nervous.
Thankfully, his new boss, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, went above-and-beyond to put his mind at ease in the final moments he had to prepare for his debut showcase on the biggest stage his chosen profession has to offer.
During an interview in Las Vegas, NV. for WrestleMania 42 Week, Royce Keys spoke with Adrian Hernandez of Unlikely (see video below). While chatting with the media outlet, the newest addition to the blue brand on WWE SmackDown reflected on Triple H going out of his way to help him prepare for his WWE Royal Rumble debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I don’t think I slept the night before,” Keys admitted. “Just going to the airport, getting on that first flight. Okay, it’s happening. Getting on that second flight and just landing in Saudi, then having someone wait for me… I had to stay in my hotel.”
Keys continued, “I complained, and Hunter had a full gym delivered to me in my whole little living room. My living room was rearranged into a gym. I was pumping it and had to get that pump on. He’s a gym guy, so he know how it is. But, that next morning, waking up, getting in the car, going in my room, it was crazy. I sit back and watch clips and I’ve watched the (Royal) Rumble. I’m like, ‘Man, golly, that’s me? That’s me walking down there and getting in Damian Priest’s face? Getting in Cody’s [Rhodes’] face?’ It’s wild.”
Royce Keys won the 2026 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 42 go-home episode of WWE SmackDown on April 17 in Las Vegas, NV.
