Wednesday 14th April 2021 marked the end of the road for a number of WWE competitors. As has become a yearly tradition, we had another “Black Wednesday” – that being a big release day in the WWE where a number of WWE superstars were released from their contracts. This year, Samoa Joe was the standout name of the pack; given his decades of experience and his prominent role as RAW‘s color commentator over the past year. Bo Dallas, a former NXT Champion, was also among the list of farewells. Despite the name value of both Joe and Dallas, arguably the most unnecessary release was that of the IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce). Despite being (again unnecessarily) separated last year, both women had plenty to offer the WWE. Well, it’s their loss. Should they choose to remain involved in professional wrestling, this is just the beginning. Let us take a look at just some of the qualities they had in the WWE that they can bring elsewhere.
— Jessica McKay (@JessicaMcKay) April 15, 2021
The IIconics Were Naturally Funny
One of the greatest selling points of the IIconics was their ability to make people laugh. How can we forget Billie Kay haunting Kayla Braxton with shouts of “hey Kayla!” in her Australian accent? Whether it be on WWE television, or on Tik Tok, both Peyton Royce and Billie Kay are gold together. This is why it was so unnecessary for WWE creative to break them up last year. Traditionally, teams get broken up when they have run their course. In the WWE, however, teams get broken up prematurely all the time (Hurt Business, anyone?) and this is a recurring problem that needs to end. It is especially a problem when there is a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship and not enough women’s wrestlers signed to compete in that division. There are even fewer genuine women’s tag teams, which leaves us with the makeshift duos of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, or Natalya and Tamina Snuka. Wherever Billie and Peyton go, whatever they do next, they are sure to make people laugh.
They Were Actually Good Wrestlers
During their NXT days, there was constant talk online of Peyton Royce being the standout worker of the duo. This was probably a fair assessment at the time, as Royce definitely felt like the better wrestler of the two. However, over time, Kay came into her own as a solid worker herself – both women (who had wrestled elsewhere before coming to the WWE) cared enough to improve during their time with the WWE between 2014 and 2021. They never rested on their laurels and always showed themselves to be good competitors in the ring, in addition to their glowing personalities outside of it. As a tag team, they were arguably the most complete women’s tag team in the WWE, which again only adds to the confusion of breaking them up.
They Had So Much More To Give
Thank you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/IVig0sl4pN
— Cassie Lee (@CassieLee) April 16, 2021
Both Peyton and Billie had so much more to give the WWE. They debuted just three years ago and in that time, were not given many feuds to work with. They captured the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships from the Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) at WrestleMania 35 and this is without a doubt a career highlight which they will forever cherish. However, the potential was there for further feuds. We never got to see Peyton going for singles gold, with Billie trying to distract her opponent to pull off the win. We never got to see either of them pin R-Truth for the 24/7 Championship and then attempt to fend him off for weeks. The point is, The IIconics are a talented duo who had not run their course in the WWE. Jessica McKay (Billie Kay) and Cassandra McIntosh (Peyton Royce) are two very talented ladies and we can only hope that they continue to grace us with their presence, whether that be with a future WWE return, a run with another company, or simply through Tik Tok. Should they choose to remain the business, their release is just the beginning and it’s only a matter of time until they’re on our screens once more.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. WWE fan? You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
