Reason Why Royce Keys Has Been Absent From WWE

Why haven't we seen Royce Keys compete on WWE programming since his debut at the Royal Rumble back in January?

Former AEW TNT Champion Powerhouse Hobbs made his WWE debut as Royce Keys as part of the Men's Rumble match earlier this year. Despite that, Keys hasn't appeared on WWE programming since beyond commercials promoting his interview with Stephanie McMahon's What's Your Story podcast.

This has led to a lot of fan speculation online about Keys' absence from WWE and what exactly is happening with the former AEW star. There were even reports suggesting that the company wasn't happy about Keys' age, but those were quickly debunked.

Thankfully, we now have multiple updates that shine some light on the situation.

What's happening with Royce Keys

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Royce Keys' current absence from WWE programming shouldn't be seen as anything other than the company preparing him for his eventual full-time debut, with one source telling Johnson that Keys is currently being "acclimated" to how WWE runs its production, compared to what he's used to from AEW.

It was noted to Johnson that 99 percent of the talents WWE hires go through the exact same process that Keys is going through right now. So while some fans might be frustrated by Keys' current absence, there doesn't appear to be anything to be concerned about.

What brand is Royce Keys expected to be part of?

Meanwhile, the folks over at BodySlam+ are reporting that Keys is still expected to be a member of the SmackDown roster upon his debut, noting that WWE has filmed vignettes for the former AEW star that are expected to start airing in the near future.

As for Keys not being on television yet, BodySlam states that the former Powerhouse Hobbs is currently getting his WWE reps in dark matches while they finalize his creative moving forward. Since the Royal Rumble, Keys has worked two dark matches before SmackDown, picking up victories over Nathan Frazer and Alex Shelley.

Perhaps WWE doesn't want to oversaturate the "free agent" storyline, which has already been used for multiple NXT talents since their call-ups this year. Not to mention Oba Femi still hasn't locked down whether he will appear on Raw or SmackDown full-time going forward. If Keys is planned for SmackDown, smart money would have Femi being on Raw to keep them apart for the time being.

It will be interesting to see whether WWE intends to hold Royce Keys off television until after WrestleMania season ends or if they have plans for him next month in Las Vegas.