Posted By James Walsh on 02/09/26
On the latest episode of Off The Top, Rikishi talked about how he encouraged Powerhouse Hobbs, aka Royce Keys, to leave AEW for WWE. Keys made the move in January and made his surprise debut in the Royal Rumble match. You can check out some highlights below:
On Keys’ Move To WWE:
“Well, he’s always looked amazing. You know this kid here, Hobbs — I’m gonna stick with Hobbs, right? Because that’s what I know him as when he came to train with me down here. We used to run shows together… in any case, you know, he went through the system. He did all the independents, he went through all the ups and downs, the bullshit of certain independent promoters, and how to survive in the game. But he was never far away from me. Like he would just pick up the phone, and he would call me, ‘Coach hey, how do I deal with this?’ He was always asking questions?”
On Their Conversation:
“And I just [saw] him recently. I believe it was WrestleCon last year in Las Vegas. And he stopped by. He’s always been respectful, even when he was in AEW at the time. He would always just out of the random blue, just text me and [ask] how am I doing, and so forth. So we had a little chat. I kind of knew he was going to jump ship. It was easy over there for him in AEW, but he wasn’t being used the right way.”
On his Advice To Keys:
“And it’s like, ‘Well listen. You can always leave and go to WWE. If you’re not happy, and it’s not about the money anymore? WWE is where it’s at.’ I mean, every single wrestler on the planet that’s out here in the independent circuit is gunning to be able to be seen or go to WWE. So I said, ‘Take a chance. If you’re gonna take a chance, take a chance on yourself.’ And so for me, that was the end of our conversation, until I seen the highlights. And when he came out? Man, I was so happy for him.”
On the Grind Of Wrestling
“There’s the pattern of independent wrestling. The pattern is to stay consistent, continue to believe in yourself. That’s a true saying in this industry, right? And learn. Learn to perfect the craft in the ring. Understand how the politics go. At the end of the day, you do you. So big shout out to Hobbs.”