Royce Keys debuted in WWE at this year’s Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. He lasted 9 minutes and 55 seconds and eliminated Damian Priest before being eliminated himself by Bronson Reed. After that, he wasn’t shown on television for several weeks.
But vignettes started airing in the weeks leading up to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the night before WrestleMania: Vegas. He made his Friday Night SmackDown debut on April 10, 2026, in a winning bout against Berto.
The very next week was the battle royal, where he won by last eliminating MFT’s Talla Tonga. Since then, he’s beaten Angel but lost to Gunther in a number one contender’s match for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
He’s also been involved in the ongoing storyline with MFT and the WWE Tag Team Champions Priest and R-Truth. On the June 5 SmackDown, he had to face Talla in a singles match. Would he win, or would the threat of MFT be too much for him to overcome?
Royce Keys Ends Up Beat Down by Talla Tonga and the Rest of MFT
With Keys’ first major storyline being in the middle of the MFT-Priest and Truth drama, there are a lot of callbacks if people are paying attention. Throughout the last couple of weeks, he has been trying to help Priest out. However, Priest was the one who eliminated him in the Royal Rumble back in January. There’s obviously still some reluctance to accept that help.
Also, Talla was the last man standing other than him in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. There’s no way that Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga forgot about that, so they’ve been targeting him any time they can. Talla Tonga and Tama actually beat him and Priest in a tag match last Friday, so he’s seeking revenge for the loss. As he walked to the ring, he stared down Sikoa and Tama, not forgetting last week.
The match began with a staredown, and Talla shoving Keys’ face away from him. Keys responded with some punches to his face. Talla clotheslined him, but he popped right back up. He tried to pick him up, but got a bunch of hands to the back, followed by a headbutt in retaliation. The two then exchanged punches before Keys clotheslined Talla over the top rope, who tried to get up but got knocked down again.
Eventually, he got back up and made Keys collapse into the cover for a failed pinfall after he tried lifting him again. Talla tried to kick him in the face, but he moved out of the way. That led to him running into the turnbuckle and getting a bunch of punches to the back. Keys then punched him several times before trying to lift him unsuccessfully yet again.
Talla tried to run at him, but ran into the turnbuckle instead. That led to Keys splashing him and tackling him once he was in the center of the ring. He then finally powerslammed him to the ground before Sikoa stepped onto the ring apron. Tama then got his attention, causing him to step out of the ring. When he got back in, Talla Tonga punched him and hit him with the Talla T-Bomb to win the match.
He then got the usual MFT post-match beatdown, but then help arrived to temporarily even things out. R-Truth’s music hit, and he came out ready to defend him. He still wasn’t medically cleared to compete, but that didn’t stop him from stepping up to help his friend.
Brawling with MFT, he was quickly beaten up before Priest saved him. But he then got yelled at for trying to attack the guys who injured him. Royce Keys tried to get up, but got hit with the Cutthroat by Tama. Even though he didn’t win, his story with MFT is far from over.
