SmackDown appearance expected this week in Dallas
Summary
– Royce Keys is expected to appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown
– He was backstage at Raw earlier this month but not used on television
– Keys made his WWE debut at the 2026 Royal Rumble under his new name
Royce Keys is set to make his next WWE appearance following his surprise debut in the 2026 Royal Rumble, ending weeks of speculation about his immediate future.
During a February 9 WrestleVotes Q&A session, it was noted that Keys is expected to appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown from Dallas, Texas. His absence from last week’s show raised questions, especially after he was seen backstage at the February 2 episode of Raw but was not listed on the SmackDown runsheet.
WrestleVotes indicated that Keys was not scheduled internally for last Friday’s broadcast, making his absence intentional rather than last-minute. The expectation now is that he will be featured this Friday night in Dallas.
Keys entered the Royal Rumble match at number fourteen, marking his first WWE appearance under the Royce Keys name. The debut represented a full rebrand for the former Powerhouse Hobbs and took place in Riyadh before an international audience.
Before signing with WWE, AEW reportedly made a strong effort to retain him. Keys ultimately declined and even reached out to Jim Ross before finalizing his decision to join WWE.
With his placement on the SmackDown roster now set, attention turns to how WWE will present him going forward. His upcoming appearance is expected to provide the first real direction for his character following the Royal Rumble debut.
