Triple H’s Backstage Conversation With Royce Keys Before WWE Debut Revealed
In January, there were several reports about AEW’s Powerhouse Hobbs being WWE-bound.
That news was finally confirmed on January 23. He made his debut for the Stamford promotion at the 2026 Royal Rumble under the name Royce Keys.
While his impact was not significant, he did manage to eliminate Damian Priest, a former World Champion.
WWE recently uploaded a video on its YouTube page, showing candid scenes behind the curtains before Royce Keys’ debut.
The video starts with him standing inside the Riyadh Season Stadium at King Abdullah Financial District, flabbergasted, saying it felt like something out of a movie. He also caught up with his former colleague from AEW, Cody Rhodes.
Later, his interaction backstage with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H was also caught on film, with the boss sending encouraging words to him.
We’re gonna get rolling and get some sh*t started, we’ll be in a good place. [2:23 onwards]
Royce Keys Turned Down Massive AEW Deal Before Joining WWE
It is fair to assume that Royce Keys had a night to remember on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
However, it would not have been possible had he not turned down an offer from his then-employer, AEW.
The news was broken by Dave Meltzer during a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, where he claimed that his offer was in line with how much the AEW originals earned at the time of the promotion’s inception in 2019.
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.
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.