WWE: AJ Styles on Mike Santana’s Surprise Appearance & Official Arrival to NXT Brand at 7/21 WWE NXT Show, City of East Palo Alto, CA Officially Declares July 23 as Royce Keys Day, SummerSlam 2026 Ticket Sales Update

AJ Styles Comments on Mike Santana’s Surprise Appearance & Official Arrival to NXT Brand at 7/21 WWE NXT Show

As noted before, this past Tuesday’s WWE NXT show at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida featured former TNA talent Mike Santana making a surprise return appearance to NXT and his official arrival to the NXT brand.

A recent episode of the Phenomenally Retro podcast featured WWE Hall of Famer and co-host AJ Styles giving his thoughts about his reaction backstage when he saw Santana show up at this past Tuesday’s WWE NXT show and Santana telling him that is now with WWE.

“The thing is, Mike came out at the end of the match, where Tony is holding up the heavyweight championship. Mike comes to the back, I said, ‘What’s up bro? Good to see you. I hope you’re doing well. Where are we doing this? We’re doing this in TNA? Are we doing this here in NXT?’ He goes, ‘No dude, you don’t understand. I’m here now.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow. We got you.’ So it was pretty cool man. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s going to do next.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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City of East Palo Alto, CA Officially Declares July 23 as Royce Keys Day

East Palo Alto Mayor Webster Lincoln recently declared in a ceremony held this past Thursday that July 23 will officially be known as Royce Keys Day in the city going forward.

East Palo Alto, California is the hometown of Keys.

Official announcement:

PROCLAMATION OF THE CITY OF EAST PALO ALTO DECLARING JULY 23 AS ROYCE KEYS DAY AND HONORING WILLIAM HOBSON

WHEREAS, William Hobson, known around the world as Royce Keys, was raised in the Gardens neighborhood of East Palo Alto, California, where he developed the resilience, determination, and work ethic that have guided him throughout his life and career; and

WHEREAS, inspired by a lifelong passion for professional wrestling, Keys dedicated himself to years of training, perseverance, and sacrifice, building a career that has taken him from local wrestling promotions to the world’s largest stages while never forgetting his East Palo Alto roots; and

WHEREAS, through his accomplishments as Powerhouse Hobbs, Keys earned international recognition, capturing the AEW TNT Championship and the AEW World Trios Championship, establishing himself as one of professional wrestling’s premier competitors; and

WHEREAS, in 2026, Royce Keys fulfilled a lifelong dream by signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), making his highly anticipated debut at the Royal Rumble, and beginning a new chapter the world’s premier sports entertainment stage; and

WHEREAS, Royce Keys continued his impressive rise in WWE by winning the 2026 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, one of WWE’s most prestigious annual honors, demonstrating the determination, athletic excellence, and perseverance that have defined his career; and

WHEREAS, despite achieving international success, Royce Keys has remained proud of his hometown and has returned to East Palo Alto to encourage and inspire local youth, reminding them that with hard work, discipline, and belief in themselves, they too can achieve extraordinary dreams; and

WHEREAS, Royce Keys serves as an outstanding ambassador for the City of East Palo Alto, exemplifying excellence, humility, perseverance, and community pride while demonstrating to future generations that greatness can emerge from every neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, the City of East Palo Alto is proud to recognize Royce Keys for his exceptional achievements, his positive representation of our community on a global stage, and his commitment to inspiring young people to pursue lives of purpose, resilience, and excellence;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, Webster Lincoln, Mayor of the City of East Palo Alto, together with the City Council, do hereby proclaim Thursday, July 23, 2026, as “Royce Keys Day” in the City of East Palo Alto, and encourage all residents to join in celebrating his remarkable accomplishments, his unwavering dedication to excellence, and the pride and inspiration he continues to bring to our community.

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WWE SummerSlam 2026 Ticket Sales Update

As noted before, WWE had sold and distributed around 22,780 tickets for Night 1 on August 1 and around 22,364 tickets for Night 2 on August 2 at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota as of last week.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE has sold and distributed around 29,389 tickets for Night 1 and 29,216 tickets for Night 2 of SummerSlam as of this past Thursday.

Meltzer reported that one reason for the large boost in ticket sales for both nights of SummerSlam over this past week was due to WWE’s on-going sale of $25 for select tickets for the event.