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Before Royce Keys picked opponents in the WWE, he wrestled and worked with future stars on the independent scene in the Bay Area.
Keys performed for West Coast Pro alongside fellow WWE star Jacob Fatu before each took giant steps to become the superstars fans cheer for today. West Coast Pro owner Scott Bregante described the company’s rise and impact on the industry in an interview with Pakinomist Digital before its shows took place during WrestleMania week last month.
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Royce Keys looks on in the ring during WWE’s Royal Rumble at the Riyadh Season Stadium at KAFD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
WWE SmackDown’s newest big man said the West Coast Pro was a different experience than many other places he’s worked.
“A lot. Scott is one of my partners from way back. He knows everything I’ve been through. Me and him have been through some things together,” Keys told Pakinomist Digital. “The West Coast definitely has a different feel than anywhere else I’ve been. I’m not knocking any other place.
“The West Coast man, I think we grind harder, we get what we want, we take what we want. For me, I like to say it’s in the water out here in the Bay. You drink the water out here, it’s something else.”
Fatu, who will challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash next weekend, was also a top man at West Coast Pro. Keys said he had no doubt Fatu would become as big a star as he is now in WWE.
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Jacob Fatu enters the ring before his non-sanctioned match against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“That’s my dawg. We go a shilling and four cents back,” he said. “That’s my guy man. Me and him, driving the car 10 hours to a show and back 10 hours in a beat-up Honda Civic eating top ramen after practicing at KnokX Pro, painting at APW and West Coast Pro. That’s my guy, man. We rocked hard.
“Many times he’s eaten at my table, I’ve eaten at his table. Sleep on his couch, he’s slept on my couch. That’s my guy. I’m very proud of him. I put all 10 toes down, I run with that guy seven days a week.”
The “grinding” that Keys referred to helps shape professional wrestlers from all walks of life.
Long, and sometimes dangerous, car trips from venue to venue just to perform at a bingo hall or high school gymnasium are a staple of the independent scene for many wrestlers.
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The keys were not spared.
“I did a show in Reno once and it was about six of us in the car,” he said. “No chains on the car. We drove through a blizzard. Normally, from the Bay to Reno, it takes about 3 1/2-4 hours depending on how you push the whip. But man, I was the one in the front seat going maybe 3, 4, 5 mph through a blizzard. It was like, you can’t see like you were in a room and when you could almost see it in a room. ‘Star Wars, you know, like everybody the stars and everything that comes at you, but it was snow.
“I remember driving from Oakland to Las Vegas—me and Jacob. Go fight, okay, yeah, we’re going back. We got work the next day. Get back in the car, drive back 10 hours to the bay from Vegas just for the experience. I took something called a Mega Bus… leave on a Thursday, take the train down to KnokX Pro with Rikishi, Gangrel, Black Pearl, get back on the train, and take 7-8 hours back to drive. the same every week, every week, every week.
But for Keys, there was no other option.
Royce Keys competes against Berto during SmackDown at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on April 10, 2026. (Melina Pizano/WWE)
“Me personally, I know what I want. There is no plan B. You have to stick to plan A.”
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Now both Keys and Fatu appear weekly on WWE programming.
