Peyton Royce Recalls Nerves Before WWE Main Roster Debut

On April 10, 2018, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce — collectively known as The IIconics — made their main roster debut on "WWE Smackdown," attacking "SmackDown" Women's Champion Charlotte Flair. The beatdown would lead Carmella to cash in her Money in the Bank contract on "The Queen" to win the title. During a recent appearance on "Ring the Belle," Royce — now known as Cassie Lee after leaving WWE — shared how anxious she was to make her debut in front of a live audience.

"I was shaking in my little boots right there, so nervous," Lee said. "I can even tell watching it back and the way I talk, like I just don't have the confidence that I eventually did have. I was just so nervous, this was basically my dreams coming true in this moment and it was such a huge opportunity for us against Charlotte." 

Lee went to explain why that moment ended up being more important than either she or Kay (aka Jessie McKay) realized at the time.

"We had no idea Carmella was going to cash in, no idea at all," she said. "Then we realized how big of an opportunity that was. Like we didn't actually grasp it until Carmella cashed in, but yeah, I mean we talk about it all the time, if we could dream up our debut, this is what it would be."

A year after their debut, the IIconics won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 35, but they were split up in 2020 and released in 2021, eventually landing in Impact Wrestling. Lee, who gave birth to her first child in January 2023, returned to wrestling in October, performing six matches for World Series Wrestling in her home country of Australia. McKay hasn't wrestled since April 2022, when she and Lee lost the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship in their final match with that promotion.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Ring the Belle" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.