Royce Keys has finally made his WWE SmackDown debut, and Mark Henry has some thoughts on how it went. On Friday’s edition of SmackDown, Keys made his WWE television debut with a dominant win over Berto.
Later in the show, Solo Sikoa approached Keys in a backstage segment, offering his assistance and making clear the door is always open for him. Speaking on Busted Open, Henry praised Keys’ performance while also identifying areas for improvement.
“I enjoyed the Royce Keys segments. With the match, he stayed within himself; he stayed powerful. He made some mistakes in the sense that, if you’re going to hit somebody with something, follow it up with something. Don’t get caught up in the crowd, wanting to wave at your friends in the front row and all of that, because you kicked him in the a**. He hasn’t had a problem with mentorship; there’s a few guys that I know are in his ear that I’ve watched talk to him. He’s going to be a good one, I can see it already,” Henry said.
Henry also weighed in on Sikoa’s backstage approach, expressing a preference for Keys to forge his own path rather than aligning with an established faction.
“I don’t think that Royce Keys should focus his attention on joining a clique. I think that he should try to be his own man right now. But when you’re your own man, you rub people that want you to be muscle for them the wrong way,” Henry said.
Keys, formerly known as Powerhouse Hobbs in AEW, made his WWE debut in the men’s Royal Rumble before going off television. He had been heavily rumored to team with Jelly Roll at WrestleMania 42, though current storylines heading into the show never reflected that and Roll is in the middle of the WWE Title program.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
