Note on Royce Keys Beatdown Ending of Raw

With Royce Keys suffering a particularly brutal beating at the end of Monday Night Raw, and Netflix seemingly editing the blood for reruns of the show, there had been some speculation that the former Powerhouse Hobbs was injured for real. Were the chair shots designed to cover for a legit injury and give Keys a storyline way out for a while?

According to Dave Meltzer, the answer is no. In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he states that this was just a regular angle, and not an injury-covering one.

That’s good news for the wrestler. Royce Keys has taken a while to gain some momentum, and it would be a shame for all involved if his first big push resulted in a legitimate sidelining. As it stands, WWE appears to be building a feud between him and Jacob Fatu, which could lead to some epic battles if booked correctly. It might be too soon to put Keys in a position to face Roman Reigns, but having him prove his worth against Jacob would ensure that when he is inevitably put into the title picture, he’ll be ready.

Perhaps a bigger issue is whether the fans will ever actually treat Fatu as the villain in this angle, as they’ve seemed reluctant to boo him so far.