The IIconics are an Australian

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

consisting of

Jessie McKay Jessica McKay (born 23 June 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Billie Kay and for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she competed as Jessie McKay. In Jun ...

and Cassie Lee. They are best known for their time in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

as The Iconic Duo and later The IIconics, under the individual names of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, respectively. McKay and Lee, who are real-life friends, both attended

Westfields Sports High School , motto_translation = Courage and Valour , established = , location = 406A Hamilton Road, Fairfield West, Western Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive a ...

and were trained by

Madison Eagles Alexandra Ford (born 5 June 1984) is an Australian professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Madison Eagles. She has wrestled internationally in Australia, the United States, Canada and Japan, and is a former two-time Shimmer Champ ...

. Prior to WWE, Kay and Royce wrestled in Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance (PWWA) in Australia under the names Jessie McKay and KC Cassidy. They debuted as a team on 8 May 2015 shortly after being both signed on WWE's division

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

, and were used as jobbers on

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s, not picking up a single victory during their first year and a half as a team; during that time, they were renamed Jessie 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 on NXT television on 5 October 2016, later dubbing themselves The Iconic Duo and later the IIconics which they unsuccessfully chased after the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...

. They made their move to the main roster by joining

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

on 10 April 2018, now as The IIconics, and captured the

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across both ...

WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on A ...

the following year, becoming the first all-Australian tag team champions in WWE history, and the first Australians to win a title at

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

, WWE's flagship event. The two would break-up as the result of losing a feud with

The Riott Squad Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to [World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she performs under the ring name Ruby Riot. Prange has also worked in Wor ...

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 name The IInspiration. They eventually signed with

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

in October 2021, and would win the

Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship The Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the professional wrestling promotion Impact Wrestling. It is contested for mainly by teams consisting of two female wrestlers in I ...

in their debut match at Bound 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 in history to have held both the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship.

History

Origins

Before forming as a team, Kay (under her real name Jessie McKay) and Royce (as KC Cassidy) wrestled each other at

Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance Alexandra Ford (born 5 June 1984) is an Australian professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Madison Eagles. She has wrestled internationally in Australia, the United States, Canada and Japan, and is a former two-time Shimmer Champ ...

(PWWA) throughout their careers including a title match for the PWWA Championship. Both women joined WWE, where they were assigned to

, in 2015, originally under their ring names from PWWA. Cassidy made her debut on the 15 May episode of ''

'', losing to

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...

Sasha Banks Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on ...

in a non-title match.

WWE

Early years (2015–2019)

McKay and Cassidy were teamed up shortly after joining NXT, although they would only appear in

s for over a year. Their first match as a team was on 8 May 2015 at a house show in

Largo, Florida Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,500, up from 69,371 in 2000. Largo was first incorporated in 1 ...

, where they lost to Bayley and

Carmella Carmella is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Carmella DeCesare Carmella Danielle DeCesare Garcia (born July 1, 1982) is an American model who was ''Playboy'' magazine's Miss April 2003 and Playmate of t ...

in what was also McKay's first match in WWE. For a period of over a year, the two were used as jobbers 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. The team made their TV debut on the 5 October 2016 episode of ''

'', and were later dubbed "The Iconic Duo". 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 in

Fort Pierce, Florida Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...

, defeating

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

and

Liv Morgan Gionna Jene Daddio (born June 8, 1994) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Liv Morgan. She is a former SmackDown Women's Champion. In 20 ...

. They also won their first match on television on the 28 December 2016 episode of ''NXT'', defeating Aliyah and Morgan again. On 28 January 2017 at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, the two were voted 2016's "Breakout of the Year" at the

NXT Year-End Award The NXT Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy, Grammy and WWE's own Slammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers who have competed in NXT in the previous year. There have been five editions of the c ...

s; they also competed at the event in their live TV debut, both losing in a

fatal four-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the

won by defending champion

Asuka Asuka may refer to: People * Asuka (name), a list of people * Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler * Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan Places In Japan * , an area in Yamato Province (now ...

. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Royce unsuccessfully competed in a fatal four-way match for the vacant NXT Women's Championship against

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the cur ...

Nikki Cross Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag Team ...

, and winner

Ember Moon Adrienne Reese (born August 31, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Athena. She also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is the current ROH Wom ...

. The duo's final televised match on NXT TV was on the 4 October 2017 episode of ''NXT'' in a loss against Cross and

Ruby Riott Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to [World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she performs under the ring name Ruby Riot. Prange has also worked in Wor ...

, although they kept on competing in house shows and Peyton made her main roster debut for

in the 20-woman WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania 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 against Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox, Steffanie Newell; after the match, both teams embraced one another. The IIconics - 2019-08-18 - 05

Kay and Royce, now known as "The IIconics", debuted on 10 April 2018 episode of '' WWE SmackDown, SmackDown Live'', attacking

SmackDown Women's Champion The WWE SmackDown Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championship, world championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion ...

Charlotte Flair Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. She is currently inactive. She is a second-generati ...

, allowing

to cash in her

Money in the Bank contract The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...

and defeat Flair to win the championship. The following week on ''SmackDown'', The IIconics won their first match on the main roster by defeating

and

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and ...

. On 6 October at Super Show-Down in their native country, they defeated Asuka and

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions (2019)

In 2019, The IIconics entered their first

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

at the eponymous event, eliminating

before being eliminated by

Lacey Evans Macey Estrella-Kadlec (née Evans; born March 24, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Lacey Evans. Originally introduced to wrestling while serving as a militar ...

. The following month at

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel st ...

, they participated in the first female tag team

match to determine the inaugural holders of the

, eliminating

and

before being eliminated by

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Nia Jax from 2014 to 2021 and became a one-time Raw Women's Champion and two- ...

and Tamina; the match was ultimately won by The Boss 'n' Hug Connection ( Bayley and

). 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 of ''SmackDown''. Because of their win, they (and two other teams) challenged Banks and Bayley for the championship at

in a

fatal four-way tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. At the event on 7 April, The IIconics won the Women's Tag Team Championship after Kay pinned Bayley. Their win made them the first all-Australian tag team champions in WWE history (the only previous occurrence of an Australian tag team champion was

Buddy Murphy Matthew Adams (born 26 September 1988) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Buddy Matthews as a member of the stable House of Black. He is best known for his time with WWE w ...

, who became

NXT Tag Team Champion The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...

alongside American

Wesley Blake Cory James Weston (born September 4, 1987) is an American professional wrestler currently working on the independent circuit under the ring name Westin Blake. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Wesley B ...

in 2015), and the first Australians to win a title at

. Two days later on ''SmackDown'', in their first title defence, The IIconics defeated

Kris Statlander Kristen Stadtlander (born August 7, 1995) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Kris Statlander. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, and has also performed on the independent circuit. She is currently ...

and Karissa Rivera. On 17 June episode of ''Raw'', the IIconics successfully defended their titles against

Alexa Bliss Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss signed a contract with WWE and was ass ...

and

. On the 16 July episode of ''SmackDown'', The IIconics retained their titles against The Kabuki Warriors (

and

) via count-out. On the 5 August episode of ''Raw'', 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 by

Mandy Rose Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose. Rose began ...

and

Sonya Deville Daria Rae Berenato (born September 24, 1993) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sonya Deville. She is also a former on-scree ...

. Their reign ended at 120 days.

Disbandment (2019–2021)

On 16 October, it was announced that The IIconics had been drafted to

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

as supplemental picks of the 2019 WWE Draft. The team unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships multiple times throughout the summer. They also feuded with

Ruby Riott Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to

Payback Payback may refer to: * Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Payback may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Payback, a member of the fictional comics superhero team Shadow ...

, The IIconics were defeated by Riott and her newly reunited tag partner

. The following night on Raw, The IIconics were forced to disband after losing to

per a stipulation. As a result of the 2020 WWE Draft, Royce was drafted to Raw while Kay was drafted to SmackDown, solidifying the breakup. As a result of budget cuts made by WWE just days following WrestleMania 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.

Impact Wrestling (2021–2022)

Following their releases, the two confirmed their intention to resume teaming-up outside of WWE, calling themselves a package deal. They had also stated in numerous interviews that they were considering their options, and were undecided on if they would sign with

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

. In June, the two filed a trademark for The IInspiration name, which indicated their new team name. On 27 August, the two announced The IInspiration Tour, marking their return to wrestling. At Knockouts Knockdown on 9 October 2021, it was announced that The IInspiration would be making their debut for

at Bound for Glory, where they defeated

Decay Decay may refer to: Science and technology * Bit decay, in computing * Software decay, in computing * Distance decay, in geography * Decay time (fall time), in electronics Biology * Decomposition of organic matter * Tooth decay (dental caries) ...

( Havok and

Rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

) for the

, becoming the first female team to have won women's tag titles in both Impact Wrestling and WWE in history. They retained the titles against Decay at

Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Ame ...

. At

Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

, The IInspiration lost the titles to The Influence (

Madison Rayne Ashley Nichole Lomberger (née Simmons; born February 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling under the ring name Madison Rayne, where she is also the coach of the women's division. She is best known ...

and

Tenille Dashwood Tenille Averil Dashwood (born 1 March 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Emma. Dashwood started training for professional wrestling in Australia i ...

), and failed to regain the titles at

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. On 27 April 2022, The IInspiration announced that they will be indefinitely stepping away from in-ring action, ending their tenure with Impact Wrestling.

Other media

Kay and Royce made their video game debut in ''

WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It is the nineteenth installment in the WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to ''WWE 2K17''. It was released worl ...

.'' They both appeared in its sequels, ''

WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth overall game in the ''WWE' ...

'', ''

WWE 2K20 ''WWE 2K20'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twenty-first installment of ...

and

WWE 2K22 ''WWE 2K22'' is a 2022 professional wrestling sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the twenty-second overall installment of the video game series based on WWE, the ninth game under the ''WWE 2K'' banne ...

''. On 16 May 2021, Royce and Kay launched a comedy and variety podcast titled ''Off Her Chops''.

Championship and accomplishments

Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship The Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the professional wrestling promotion Impact Wrestling. It is contested for mainly by teams consisting of two female wrestlers in I ...

( 1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' **Ranked No. 50 of the top 50 tag teams in the ''

PWI Tag Team 50 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

'' in 2020 *

( 1 time) **

(1 time) *** Breakout of the Year (2016)

References

External links

The IInspiration
s

profile * * {{DEFAULTSORT:IInspiration Australian female professional wrestlers Impact Wrestling teams and stables Professional wrestling in Australia Women's wrestling teams and stables WWE teams and stables WWE NXT teams and stables