The IIconics Loved Being Funny, Missed Being Perceived As Threats

During their time in NXT, Billie Kay & Peyton Royce (known as The IIconics) were able to have fun with their characters while also finding some in-ring success. 

On the main roster, they were known more for their comedy, though they did have a run as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. 

Speaking to Renee Paquette on Oral Sessions, the duo explained the different visions of NXT and the main roster. 

” It’s night and day,” said Billie Kay, who is now going by Jessica McKay. “It’s so different and a completely different audience, creative team, producer. Just completely different, nothing overlaps. NXT was so much fun as we got to explore who we wanted to be. Our debut, we couldn’t have dreamed of anything better than that. SmackDown after WrestleMania, we come out, lay out Charlotte, it was so cool and we loved that. Fortunately, we were given a microphone every time we came to the ring and not many people get that chance. It was really cool to show our personalities right off the bat and who we are, which was fun. It’s just a different product, a different brand, a different audience. Just different.”

Peyton Royce, who is now using the name Cassie Lee, followed up by saying, “In NXT, we were just like stronger and booked like threats. We transition to the main roster and Vince thought we were so funny on the microphone in that first week so it became more about us being funny and less (about being) threats. To me, I just needed time to understand that we weren’t threats anymore, we were fun and over-the-top personalities, which I loved, but I did miss being perceived as someone who could win a match or win championships. Last year, when we came back after the pandemic, I absolutely loved it from the time we came back up until they split us. That was my favorite IIconics era because I feel it was a good mesh of both of those things. We were able to be ourselves, but in the ring, it was time for business.”

The IIconics were split in August 2020. Royce would go on to team with Lacey Evans while Kay would be paired with Carmella. 

Both women were released on April 15. 

Elsewhere during the interview, the duo discussed the current troubles they are having with securing a green card. You can find their full comments by clicking here. 

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