During the August 24 episode of WWE RAW in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Royce Keys made a surprise return from injury and turned heel, aligning with the newly debuted NXT tag team Out the Mud during a chaotic main event.
The Main Event Chaos on Monday Night Raw
The August 24 episode of WWE RAW delivered a chaotic finish that upended the evening’s featured tag team match. Solo Sikoa and LA Knight had teamed up to face The Usos, while Jacob Fatu was specifically told to sit it out and stay in the back. Early on, LA Knight came out firing and knocked Jimmy Uso down with a clothesline, after which Solo Sikoa entered the match and continued the attack. Despite being unlikely partners, Sikoa and Knight worked well together and kept Jimmy isolated for much of the match. Jey Uso eventually got the hot tag, but he struggled to completely turn things around. The Usos managed to fight back for a while, hitting Sikoa with a pair of superkicks on the floor. However, Sikoa finally created some space and brought Knight back into the match.
The match neared its conclusion when Knight came close to putting Jey away after hitting an inverted DDT and a top-rope elbow. But just when it looked like the match was about to reach its finish, everything fell apart.
Royce Keys Returns and Turns Heel
Royce Keys had been away from WWE since the August 3 episode of RAW. He lost a Street Fight to Jacob Fatu and was badly beaten down after the match. WWE later announced that he would be out indefinitely, which made his surprise return even more unexpected. The street fight between the two ended in a no contest as the referee stopped the bout following Fatu’s vicious assault.
SummerSlam partners LA Knight and Solo Sikoa strengthened their onetime alliance into a more meaningful partnership, leaving Keys behind. Raw began with Solo Sikoa challenging his older brothers to a tag team match against himself and LA Knight, setting up the main event. Rather than returning to aid his former associates, a masked Keys rushed into the ring and speared both Jey Uso and Solo Sikoa. The 41-year-old Royce Keys didn’t distinguish between friend and foe as he attacked Knight and Sikoa following his takedown of the Usos. Keys called the play, and OTM was there to deliver. Michael Cole noted on commentary that the Bloodline had driven him to this, while Keys echoed that sentiment.
Out the Mud Debuts on the Main Roster
Keys was not acting alone. Two masked men, Lucien Price and Bronco Nima, collectively known as Out the Mud or OTM, hit the ring with him. Those two have been plying their craft in NXT for some three years now, and are finally getting bumped to the main roster to apparently work alongside the freshly turned Keys.
The 28-year-old Bronco Nima, who shares history with Royce Keys given their shared upbringings in Oakland and Palo Alto, California, and 29-year-old Lucien Price have been aligned in NXT since they both debuted in 2022. Together, the two were a solid team, though they never managed to taste championship glory. Both Nima, who is also in AAA’s Perros del Mal faction, and Price were NXT developmental projects. Neither wrestled on the indies before coming to WWE. Both have a background in football and came to NXT through the NIL program. It is clear the two are still works in progress, but they will now receive a shot at the main roster alongside a man who has 17+ years of experience inside the ring.
Escalating the Ringside Destruction
The match was thrown out, but the attack was far from over. Bronco Nima and Lucien Price hit Knight with a double-team move before setting Jimmy up for Keys, who dropped him with a spinebuster. Keys and OTM used the steel steps to punish Sikoa and Jey at ringside. Knight tried to fight back, but Keys also took him out with the steel steps. OTM powerbombed Jimmy Uso through the commentary desk. Meanwhile, Keys taunted Jey and forced him to watch his brother get destroyed.
By the end of the night, everyone involved in the main event was left lying. Keys, Nima, and Price were the only ones standing tall.
