The IIconics, also known asThe IInspiration are an Australianprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofJessie McKay andCassie Lee. They are both signed toTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling and also appears in TNA's partner promotion,WWE, as part of theNXT brand. They are best known for their appearances in their first run in the WWE asThe Iconic Duo and later The IIconics.[4][5]
McKay and Lee, who are real-life friends, both attendedWestfields Sports High School and were trained byMadison Eagles. Prior to WWE, Kay and Royce wrestled in Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance (PWWA) in Australia under the names Jessie McKay and KC Cassidy.[6] They debuted as a team on 8 May 2015, shortly after being both signed on WWE's divisionNXT, and were used asjobbers onhouse shows, not picking up a single victory during their first year and a half as a team; during that time, they were renamedJessie and Cassie, before they took on the names of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, which they would keep for the rest of their time in WWE. The two debuted onNXT television on 5 October 2016, later dubbing themselves The Iconic Duo, and later the IIconics, unsuccessfully chasing after theNXT Women's Championship. They made their move to the main roster by joiningSmackDown on 10 April 2018, now as The IIconics, and captured theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship atWrestleMania 35 the following year, becoming the first all-Australian tag team champions in WWE history, and the first Australians to win a title atWrestleMania, WWE's flagship event.[7] The two would break-up as the result of losing a feud withThe Riott Squad in August 2020, and eventually be released simultaneously by the company in April 2021.
The two resumed teaming up following their releases, now going by the nameThe IInspiration. They eventually signed withImpact Wrestling in October 2021, and would win theImpact Knockouts Tag Team Championship in their debut match atBound for Glory (with the title being renamed Knockouts World Tag Team Championship during their reign); after losing the titles, the two would step away from in-ring action in April 2022, ending their tenure with Impact Wrestling.
They are the only team to have won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship.
Before forming as a team, Kay (under her real name Jessie McKay) and Royce (as KC Cassidy) wrestled each other atPro Wrestling Women's Alliance (PWWA) throughout their careers including a title match for the PWWA Championship.[8][9] Both women joined WWE, where they were assigned toNXT, in 2015, originally under their ring names from PWWA. Cassidy made her debut on the 15 May episode ofNXT, losing toNXT Women's ChampionSasha Banks in a non-title match.[10]
McKay and Cassidy were teamed up shortly after joining NXT, although they would only appear inhouse shows for over a year. Their first match as a team was on 8 May 2015 at a house show inLargo, Florida, where they lost toBayley andCarmella in what was also McKay's first match in WWE.[11][12] For a period of over a year, the two were used asjobbers and lost all of their matches as a team, although they won a few separately; during that period, they were renamed Cassie (Royce) and Jessie (Kay), before taking on their names of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay in August 2015.[13][14]
The team made their TV debut on the 5 October 2016 episode ofNXT, and were later dubbed "The Iconic Duo".[15] Almost a year and a half after the creation of their team, the duo picked up their first win on 14 October 2016 at a house show inFort Pierce, Florida, defeatingAliyah andLiv Morgan.[16] They also won their first match on television on the 28 December 2016 episode ofNXT, defeating Aliyah and Morgan again.[17] On 28 January 2017 atNXT TakeOver: San Antonio, the two were voted 2016's "Breakout of the Year" at theNXT Year-End Awards; they also competed at the event in their live TV debut, both losing in afatal four-way match for theNXT Women's Championship won by defending championAsuka.[18][19]
AtNXT TakeOver: WarGames, Royce unsuccessfully competed in a fatal four-way match for the vacant NXT Women's Championship againstKairi Sane,Nikki Cross, and winnerEmber Moon.[20] The duo's final televised match on NXT TV was on the 4 October 2017 episode ofNXT in a loss against Cross andRuby Riott, although they kept on competing in house shows and Peyton made her main roster debut forSmackDown in the 20-womanWrestleMania Women's Battle Royal atWrestleMania 34; their final match as a part of the NXT brand was on 12 April 2018 at a house show in Fort Pierce, Florida, where they lost againstDakota Kai andSteffanie Newell; after the match, both teams embraced one another.[21][22]
In March, The IIconics started a feud with The Boss 'n' Hug Connection, whom they defeated in a non–title match on the 19 March episode ofSmackDown.[33][34] Because of their win, they (and two other teams) challenged Banks and Bayley for the championship atWrestleMania 35 in afatal four-way tag team match.[35][36][37] At the event on 7 April, The IIconics won the Women's Tag Team Championship after Kay pinned Bayley.[38] Their win made them the first all-Australian tag team champions in WWE history (the only previous occurrence of an Australian tag team champion wasBuddy Murphy, who becameNXT Tag Team Champion alongside AmericanWesley Blake in 2015), and the first Australians to win a title atWrestleMania.[7][39] Two days later onSmackDown, in their first title defence, The IIconics defeatedKris Statlander and Karissa Rivera.[40] On 17 June episode ofRaw, the IIconics successfully defended their titles againstAlexa Bliss andNikki Cross.[41] On the 16 July episode ofSmackDown, The IIconics retained their titles against The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka andKairi Sane) via count-out.[42] On the 5 August episode ofRaw, the duo lost the titles to Bliss and Cross in a fatal four-way elimination match. They were the first team eliminated in the match, being knocked out byMandy Rose andSonya Deville. Their reign ended at 120 days.[43]
On 16 October, it was announced that The IIconics had been drafted toRaw as supplemental picks of the2019 WWE Draft.[44] The team unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships multiple times throughout the summer. They also feuded withRuby Riott, mocking her backstage for not having any friends. They would go on to trade victories as Kay and Royce defeated Riott while Riott defeated Kay. AtPayback, The IIconics were defeated by Riott and her newly reunited tag partnerLiv Morgan.[45] The following night on Raw, The IIconics were forced to disband after losing toThe Riott Squad per a stipulation. As a result of the2020 WWE Draft, Royce was drafted to Raw while Kay was drafted to SmackDown, solidifying the breakup.[46][47] As a result of budget cuts made by WWE just days followingWrestleMania 37 on 15 April 2021, Kay and Royce were released from their WWE contracts ending their six-years runs with the company. Both women were placed under a 90-day no compete clause which expired on 14 July 2021.[48][49]
On the 30 September episode ofNXT, The IIconics, which uses the name of The IInspiration, made their return to WWE telelvision in four years along with their first appearance onNXT since 2018, were chosen to be with Team TNA in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series style match atNXT vs. TNA Showdown.[50]
Impact / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2021–2022; 2025–present)
Following their releases, the two confirmed their intention to resume teaming-up outside of WWE, calling themselves a package deal.[51] They had also stated in numerous interviews that they were considering their options, and were undecided on if they would sign withImpact Wrestling orAll Elite Wrestling. In June, the two filed a trademark for The IInspiration name, which indicated their new team name.[52] On 27 August, the two announced The IInspiration Tour, marking their return to wrestling.[53]
McKay and Arneill, as Billie Kay and Peyton Royce respectively, made their video game debut inWWE 2K18. They both appeared in its sequels,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K20 andWWE 2K22.[67]
On 16 May 2021, McIntosh and McKay launched a comedy and variety podcast titledOff Her Chops.[68]
^Impact Wrestling Staff (23 October 2021)."Bound For Glory 2021 Results". Impact Wrestling.Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved24 October 2021.
^IMPACT Wrestling Staff (20 November 2021)."Turning Point 2021 Results". Impact Wrestling.Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved21 November 2021.
^IMPACT Wrestling Staff (23 April 2022)."Rebellion 2022 Full Results". Impact Wrestling.Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved23 April 2022.
