WWE Rumors on Royce Keys, SmackDown Creative Changes, Bianca Belair Starts Finger Surgery Rehab

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reported Reason for Keys' Post-Rumble Absence

Royce Keys has not appeared on WWE programming since making his debut in the men's Royal Rumble match last month, and ever-changing WrestleMania 42 plans are reportedly the reason why.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), original plans called for Keys to feud with Damian Priest coming out of Royal Rumble and leading up to WrestleMania 42, but WWE is reconsidering multiple 'Mania plans.

WrestleVotes added that while they still believe WWE will go with Keys vs. Priest at WrestleMania, there are "still a lot of matches up in the air," and the decision has been made to keep Keys off TV until things are sorted out.

Under the name Powerhouse Hobbs, Keys starred in AEW from 2020 until January 2026 when he made the leap to WWE.

While in AEW, Hobbs held both the TNT Championship and the AEW World Trios Championships, and he was regarded as one of the most physically impressive wrestlers in the company.

Keys entered the 2026 men's Royal Rumble match as a surprise at No. 14, and he enjoyed a strong performance, lasting nearly 10 minutes.

His one and only elimination was Priest, which is likely why a WrestleMania match between them is believed to potentially be in the works.

WrestleMania 42 is still two months away, so WWE has time to set the match up, but it would likely benefit both Keys and Priest if the creative team starts laying the groundwork in the not-too-distant future.

SmackDown Reportedly Undergoes Creative Changes

WWE reportedly made some alterations to last week's SmackDown that resulted in essentially the entire blue brand roster being utilized on the show.

According to Self Made Pro on Self Made Session (h/t Mukherjee), a creative meeting was held before SmackDown, and it was decided that every SmackDown roster member would be part of the show in some way.

The Street Profits were the lone exception, although they haven't appeared on WWE programming in an extended period of time.

Self Made Pro made mention of Matt Cardona and Apollo Crews competing in a 10-man tag team match, Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae having a backstage segment with Fraxiom and Aleister Black cutting a promo on Randy Orton.

The main event of SmackDown was a Triple Threat qualifying match for the men's Elimination Chamber match between Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Jacob Fatu.

WWE champion Drew McIntyre interfered and tried to hand Zayn the win, but Rhodes kicked out and went on to win in order to earn a spot inside the Chamber.

While the top stars were heavily featured, essentially everyone got at least some shine during SmackDown, which is often a recipe for success in terms of presenting a compelling product.

Belair Begins Rehab After Finger Surgery

Bianca Belair revealed Tuesday that she began rehab after undergoing surgery to repair her injured finger.

In a video posted on her Instagram account, Belair is seen sitting at a table with her hand bandaged. Belair included the caption, "Therapy. First day after surgery, Now why it have to be at 7 a.m.?!!"

On Sunday, Belair took to Instagram to announce that she was undergoing finger surgery on Monday:

Belair has not wrestled a match in nearly 10 months, as her most recent bout was a Triple Threat against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 41 last April.

In November, during an appearance on BET's 106 & Sports (h/t F4WOnline's Bryan Rose), Belair explained the nature of her injury and how it happened.

"So I broke my knuckle, not my finger, I broke my knuckle, I broke the joint," Belair said. "It's something that I thought was going to be a very straightforward, you know, eight to 12 weeks. It's been almost six months at this point.

"I was in a Triple Threat with Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. And we were going to the top rope, because that's what we do, and we came off the top rope and Rhea landed straight on my hand and it just crushed everything in my finger. So it's been a crazy journey. You know, being an athlete and having an injury, you rely on your body and now my body's not doing what it's supposed to do. But I'm hoping that I can be back in the ring soon."

Many fans seemed to expect Belair to be a surprise entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match last month, but when that wasn't the case, it suggested that her injury still wasn't healed.

WrestleMania 42 is just two months away, and The EST recently undergoing surgery could mean that she is in line to miss a full year of in-ring action.

Belair is undoubtedly among WWE's top stars and best in-ring performers, and not having her back for WrestleMania would be a major blow to the company.

She may finally be on the proper road to recovery, though, and her return can't come soon enough given the undeniable boost she would provide to the women's division.