WWE Rumors on Royce Keys as World Champ, Oba Femi-Bronson Reed Interaction, Zilla Fatu's Future

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

WWE has reportedly been pleased with Royce Keys' work since forming the 946 stable with OTM a few weeks ago.

According to False Finish , Keys has received "massive praise" behind the scenes in WWE for assimilating well to a main event spot.

False Finish was also told by a source that "several higher-ups" in WWE view Keys as a potential future world champion.

After a solid run in AEW that saw him hold the TNT Championship and AEW World Trios Championships, Keys signed with WWE at the start of 2026.

Following a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble, it took a while for Keys to gain a foothold on WWE programming, but he finally started to do it leading up to SummerSlam when he joined forces with LA Knight and Solo Sikoa to feud with The Bloodline.

Following an attack at the hands of Jacob Fatu, Keys returned a few weeks ago with a new attitude and with OTM in two.

Since then, Keys has done quality heel work in terms of his promos and his physicality, and it is starting to feel like he could be a major player in the company moving forward.

Important people in WWE apparently feel the same way, which bodes well for Keys' future prospects.

Reported Internal Reaction to Femi-Reed Interaction

Oba Femi shoving Bronson Reed's foot off of him during Monday night's episode of Raw reportedly elicited some strong reactions within WWE.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Cain A. Knight of Cageside Seats), the situation was not part of the script, and some in the company were not happy about how it played out.

Reed putting his foot on Femi following an attack seemed to be a callback to when Femi did the same to Brock Lesnar during their rivalry.

While Lesnar allowed it to happen and seemingly encouraged it, Oba took a swing at Reed's leg when he did it to him.

After missing months due to a torn biceps, Reed made his return to WWE programming last weekend at Sunday Night's Main Event during the match between Femi and Bron Breakker.

On Raw, Femi was taken out at the hands of The Vision, and Reed hit him with his Tsunami splash finisher multiple times.

As Reed and the rest of The Vision celebrated, Reed put his foot on Oba, only for The Ruler to show what appeared to be anger or frustration.

It is unclear if Femi was legitimately upset or merely attempting to make the angle look more authentic, but it got fans talking and speculating about a potential real-life beef between the Superstars.

Ultimately, that could prove to be a good thing since fans may be more invested when the eventual Femi vs. Reed match comes to fruition.

Zilla Call-Up Reportedly Expected in Near Future

Zilla Fatu has made an instant impact in NXT, but he may not be part of WWE's developmental brand for long.

Speaking this week on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Dave Meltzer expressed his belief that Fatu will get called up to the main roster "relatively soon."

Meltzer noted how over Fatu is with the NXT crowd, and pointed out that YouTube videos of Fatu's matches and segments have done numbers consistent with top stars like Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Seth Rollins.

Fatu made his surprise WWE debut last month when he attacked Grayson Waller and Cruz Montana during a match to determine the No. 1 contender for the NXT Championship.

Then, in his first WWE match, Fatu was part of a Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Championship against Waller, Montana and Tony D'Angelo at Heatwave.

Although Fatu came out on the losing end, he bounced back with a win over Tristan Angels in his first NXT one-on-one bout.

As the son of late WWE star Umaga and part of the famous Anoa'i pro wrestling family, all signs point toward Fatu eventually having major involvement with The Bloodline when he makes it to the main roster.

Given that Solo Sikoa had a short stint in NXT before joining The Bloodline, it won't be a surprise if something similar happens with Zilla.