Tag: cassie lee

AEW stars cut hilarious promo after losing tag titles in Japan

Posted on by Jake Skudder

Recently signed AEW stars Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee (The IInspiration) were filmed backstage following their loss at TJPW YES! Wonderland this morning. The former WWE stars dropped their TJPW Princess Tag Team Championship to Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi in the semi-main, and their post-match promo was well worth the watch. Some highlights include:

Cassie Lee: “How was it? [the match] Let me let me paint you the picture, okay? We’re dehydrated to start with, okay? We’re on an 18-hour flight to get here, okay? That’s the first thing”

Jessie McKay: “Next thing is, you’ve got both girls just flying around. I got hit with a backside, someone’s backside, seven or eight times. A bottom, right? She grabbed my damn leg and tried to hurt me, tried to end my career, So I don’t appreciate that one bit.“

Cassie Lee: “We’ve got some rules to lay down, okay? First of all, I need water, I’m dehydrated. I need water, ice cold for a drink, okay?

Jessie McKay: “Number two, no streamers. We’re banning streamers. They’re gone, not allowed any inspiration, okay? And we’re going to have to approve move lists from our opponents, okay? We need to know what’s in their repertoire.”

Cassie Lee: “And we will say yes or no {whether they’re allowed to do those moves]”

Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee lose at TJPW YES! Wonderland 2026

Check out the full promo below:

The IInspiration lose in under 90 seconds in AEW Dynamite debut

Posted on by Josh Nason

The AEW Dynamite debut for The IInspiration didn’t go too well for either Cassie Lee or Jessie McKay.

The duo made their debut on AEW TV as part of Wednesday’s show from El Paso, Texas, taking on The Brawling Birds of Alex Windsor and Jamie Hayter.

That debut lasted just under 90 seconds bell to bell as the undefeated Birds finished off the former WWE Women’s and former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with their Two Birds One Stone Hart Attack-esque finisher. That was preceded by Lee and McKay asking for their entrance music to be played twice so they could continue to dance.

The two made their AEW debut as part of last month’s two-night tour of Australia, first appearing on the Sunday non-televised House Rules event, defeating two local wrestlers. They made their first on-screen appearance on last Saturday’s Collision in a pre-taped promo, calling out Hayter and Windsor.

Lee and McKay wrapped up their most recent TNA stint in January, dropping the Knockouts titles to The Elegance Brand. They are on multi-year deals with AEW and will head to Japan later this month to challenge for the TJPW Princess Tag Team titles.

AEW rumored to have interest in former WWE, TNA tag team

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Iinspiration could be headed to AEW.

Jessica McKay and Cassie Lee finished up with TNA Wrestling on the promotion’s AMC debut show last month, where they dropped the Knockouts Tag Team titles to The Elegance Brand. In this week’s edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that there has been “a lot of talk” about the team potentially coming into AEW.

Meltzer wrote:

“We’ve heard a lot of talk of The Iinspiration (Jessica McKay & Cassie Lee) coming in, really ever since they left TNA for another opportunity right after losing their tag titles to The Elegance Brand on the AMC debut show on 1/15.”

The full edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available here for subscribers.

Previously known as Billie Kay and Peyton Royce in WWE as The IIconics, McKay and Lee were with the company from 2015 until they were released as part of roster cuts following WrestleMania 37 in 2021. The pair debuted for TNA Wrestling later that year before announcing a hiatus from wrestling in April 2022.

They returned to TNA in June and went on to regain the Knockouts Tag Team titles. During their time with the company, they became two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champions, in addition to holding the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles once during their WWE run.

Cassie Lee returns to the ring at Toronto indie event

Posted on by Ian Carey

Cassie Lee, formerly known as WWE’s Peyton Royce, returned to the ring on Saturday.

Lee defeated Alexia Nicole at SMASH Wrestling’s Rumble in the Rec Room in Toronto. It was her first match since October 2023, following the birth of her second child with husband Shawn Spears in June.

After the match, Lee called out SMASH Women’s Champion, TNA’s Jody Threat, for a title match in April. She also teased bringing her former IIconics/IInspiration tag team partner, Jessie McKay (formerly Billie Kay in WWE), with her.

Lee and McKay are scheduled to wrestle their first match together as a team since 2022 in Las Vegas on the Thursday of WrestleMania week. They are booked for Prestige Wrestling’s Nothing to Lose, though their opponents have yet to be announced.

Saturday afternoon’s SMASH show occurred in the hours leading up to WWE Elimination Chamber, which took place across the street at Rogers Centre. Raj Dhesi (FKA WWE’s Jinder Mahal), Mike Rollins, Kevin Blackwood, Brent Banks, and more were also on the show.

Former IIconics reuniting for first tag match since 2022

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay — the duo formerly known as The IIconics — are reuniting for their first tag team match in three years.

Indie promotion Prestige Wrestling announced today that Lee (the former Peyton Royce) & McKay (Billie Kay) will team up at their event in Las Vegas on April 17. The show, titled Nothing to Lose, is happening on the Thursday of WrestleMania week.

Opponents for Lee & McKay have not been named yet.

The two are former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and later held Knockouts Tag Team gold for Impact Wrestling. While with Impact, they were known as The IInspiration. They are again using that name for this Prestige match.

In 2022, Lee and McKay announced that they were indefinitely stepping away from wrestling to focus on other opportunities. This will be the first time McKay has wrestled since then. Lee worked a tour of matches for World Series Wrestling in Australia in 2023.

Lee and McKay have both become mothers in recent years with Lee & Shawn Spears having two boys and McKay and her husband welcoming their first son.

Daily Update: MVP, Cardi B WWE SummerSlam, Cassie Lee

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • The most in-depth look at AEW media rights deal completed and the deal not yet completed. We look at what different numbers mean for different levels of popularity, figuring different scenarios in, best and worst case, PPV and secondary deals.
  • UFC 306 coverage with the record gate at The Sphere going head-to-head with Canelo Alvarez in the same city.
  • Coverage of the CMLL anniversary show what did and didn’t work and the difference from a normal crowd.
  • One of the biggest stars of this generation talks about retirement, gives a date and the significance of that date.
  • Where pro wrestling shows this past week fit into the weekly cable charts.
  • A look at every national pro wrestling show this past week, how it compared to last year, placings, competition and segment ratings.
  • Who is CMLL’s booker?
  • What country celebrated a national pro wrestling holiday this week
  • Update on El Hijo del Vikingo
  • The man who was believed to be the oldest living wrestler passes away
  • World team tryouts
  • Notes on a movie coming out soon on the life of Mildred Burke
  • Note on a Blu-Ray I just did voiceovers for
  • wXw tag team tournament notes
  • A very valid criticism of AEW
  • Update on ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows the next two months
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • Notes on the NFL Films piece on Tony Khan
  • Updates on TV time length for  Raw & Smackdown in January
  • Second day streaming rights updates on Raw,  Smackdown, and NXT starting next month
  • Notes on the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event and a look back at the first one and numbers that would be incredible today
  • Update on WWE moving the second NXT on CW show from a major arena and why
  • A look back at Vince McMahon’s promises when he was expanding.

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Thursday Update

WWE

  • Superstar rapper Cardi B and Bianca Belair appeared in WWE’s announcement video for SummerSlam 2025, which will take place from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3.
  • Ric Flair tweeted after watching the first episode of Netflix’s “Mr. McMahon” docuseries:
    • Watching The @VinceMcMahon Documentary Today! Episode 1, Interesting, But I’m Not Able To Comment On Anything Other Than The Fact That He Made A Lot Of People Rich & Changed The Landscape Of Wrestling For The Good! But I Definitely Will Tell You This. My Documentary WOOOOO: Becoming Ric Flair Blows That Episode Out Of The Water! It’s Emmy Nominated!! WOOOOO!
  • Angelo Dawkins and his wife Grace welcomed their second child into the world yesterday.
  • Tiffany Stratton told Gorilla Position that she thinks the SmackDown women’s division would benefit from the addition of a midcard title:
    • I definitely think we have such a stacked SmackDown roster. We have Jade Cargill, we have Bianca Belair, we’ve got Nia, we’ve got me, Naomi – I feel like there are so many big, strong talents on the SmackDown roster. I definitely think, you know, like a midcard title could be something that would benefit for the women’s roster.
  • WWE wished Asuka and Damian Priest happy birthday.
  • Bron Breakker made an appearance on 99.5 WKDQ radio in Evansville, Indiana.
  • Going Ringside has interviews with Ethan Page and Trick Williams.
  • Here’s the lineup for this Friday’s NXT Level Up episode:
    • Sol Ruca vs. Dani Palmer
    • Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe vs. Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors
    • Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo vs. Jasper Troy

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • After making his AEW debut last night, MVP posted a social media promo discussing how excited he is for this new chapter – which could be the final chapter of his career:
    • Cat’s out of the bag. By now I’m sure many of you know – and if you don’t, you’re about to find out – that I’ve embarked on an exciting new chapter for my professional wrestling career. And I’m excited because this new chapter is quite possibly the final chapter. And I’ve got some really cool things in store. So if you’ve been a fan of mine for this long, come hang out for just a little bit longer. Same MVP, just conducting business in a new location. MVP is AEW. See you next week.
  • AEW shared post-match comments from Mariah May & Mina Shirakawa and Yuka Sakazaki & Willow Nightingale following Dynamite Grand Slam.
  • After Hook retired the FTW title last night, Taz tweeted out a message thanking all of the past champions and any fan who has enjoyed the championship:
    • I would like to thank all of the men whom have held the FTW Championship….[Sabu], [Brian Cage], [Ricky Starks], [Jack Perry], [Chris Jericho] & [Hook]
    • And also any fan that has supported/enjoyed this championship during the ECW years or in modern day wrestling during the current AEW years…thank you.
  • In this week’s Mone Mag, Mercedes Mone named Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Bianca Belair as the three most physically strong women she’s ever wrestled. Mone also listed Charlotte, Bayley, Belair, and Willow Nightingale as the toughest opponents she’s ever faced.
  • Mone responded to a question from a fan asking her thoughts on Athena becoming the longest-reigning champion in ROH history:
    • I’m so proud of Athena! She is one of the best in the world she’s definitely a champion I look forward to facing one day.
  • AEW’s Buddy Matthews and Ortiz are both celebrating birthdays today.
  • Prestige Wrestling announced that, due to contractual obligations, TNA wrestlers Jordynne Grace, Sinner and Saint (Travis Williams & Judas Icarus), and Xia Zhao are off their show in Portland, Oregon this Sunday. The news comes after TNA had to adjust its TV taping schedule for the weekend in South Carolina due to Hurricane Helene.
  • Jeff Hardy spoke to The Takedown about honoring the late Bray Wyatt with his Fiend face paint on TNA Impact:
    • You just go for stuff, and the payoff is like being proud of yourself when it’s done, especially someone like Bray Wyatt and The Fiend. The memories he’s left us with as pro wrestling fans, to honor him in that way, it felt so good after it was done. I was totally glad I just went for it. I’m going to continue from time to time to do the teeth on my face and see where that goes.
  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, NXT’s Shawn Spears addressed whether his wife Cassie Lee (the former Peyton Royce) intends to come back to pro wrestling:
    • She watches it a lot. She watches it more than I do. That doesn’t mean I don’t watch wrestling, it just means I’m busy a lot. I’m around, I can see a lot of stuff. Yeah, she keeps up on it. She still loves watching a lot of her friends, and she’s still getting the itch. So she’s already weight training, she’s doing all that kind of stuff. She’s getting back into the mix and things like that. When she feels 100 percent good to go there’s a ring close by, so she plans on getting back into it. She doesn’t know to what capacity, meaning no one’s said anything, no one said hey, when you ready, come on back. Like, not Impact, not anything, but with the working relationship, who’s to say that that’s not a possibility? But yeah, she still misses it. I think she still has a little bit of an itch.
  • MLW announced that Kings of Colosseum 2025 will take place from the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas on Saturday, January 11.
  • CMLL’s Hechicero will make his MLW debut at Lucha Apocalypto in Cicero, Illinois on Saturday, November 9.

Cassie Lee & Shawn Spears welcome birth of second child

Posted on by Ian Carey

The family of Cassie Lee and Shawn Spears recently grew by one member.

The couple welcomed the birth of their second child, a boy named Harley Dean, on June 21. Their first son Austin was born in January 2023.

“Harley Dean, you complete us 🩵 6.21.24,” Lee wrote on Instagram.

“Sweet boy 🥺,” wrote Lee’s longtime tag partner and friend Jessie Mckay

“Congratulations!! How perfect,” wrote Tenille Dashwood in response to Lee’s post.

“congratulations mama,” wrote Kelly Kelly.

Spears will have little time to celebrate the birth of his son, as he is scheduled to wrestle Trick Williams on WWE NXT this week.

Lee recently commented about a potential WWE return down the road as well. She spoke to Ring The Belle earlier this year and said she was open to appearing in a Royal Rumble match after having originally turned down the opportunity in 2022.

“I would love that. It’d be so good to catch up and I mean, it’s the Royal Rumble. We said no last time because we were still pretty hurt about (our release) but, I feel healed now and I feel like I’d love to do that if the opportunity came.”

Cassie Lee & Shawn Spears expecting second child

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Cassie Lee (Cassie Arneill) and Shawn Spears (Ronnie Arneill) are celebrating the holidays by sharing a big announcement.

On Christmas Eve, Lee and Spears announced that they’re expecting their second child. The announcement included the reveal that the baby will be a boy. The couple welcomed the arrival of their first son Austin in January 2023.

“2024 our family is complete,” Lee and Spears wrote. “Merry Christmas Eve!”

Lee and Spears have been married since 2019.

Lee is a former Women’s Tag Team Champion for both WWE and Impact Wrestling. In WWE, she wrestled under the name Peyton Royce. Lee stepped away from pro wrestling in April 2022 but made her return to the ring this October, competing on a tour for World Series Wrestling in her home country of Australia. Lee won the World Series Wrestling Women’s Championship on the tour.

Spears is part of the AEW roster but hasn’t wrestled for the promotion since September.

Lee’s friend and former tag team partner Jessica McKay (Billie Kay) recently gave birth to her first child, a son named Cooper.

McKay commented on Lee and Spears’ announcement: “Another beautiful boy!! Cooper will have TWO best friends.”

Jessica McKay/Billie Kay announces pregnancy

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion Jessica McKay announced Thursday that she and her partner are expecting their first child.

McKay, the former Billie Kay in WWE, revealed the news on Instagram that she is expecting in December.

McKay will join longtime tag team partner Cassie Lee (formerly Peyton Royce in WWE) in being a mom. Lee and husband Shawn Spears welcomed their first child this past January.

https://www.instagram.com/p/p:CtPsCjLPORv

The soon-to-be 34-year-old hasn’t wrestled since April 2022 when she and Lee were unsuccessful in defeating then-Knockouts Tag Team Champions Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood for the titles.

Last month, Lee announced her impending return to the ring for Australia’s World Series Wrestling as part of their October Full Throttle tour. She also has not wrestled since April 2022.

McKay is the latest notable pro wrestling name to announce their pregnancy recently as AEW’s Tay Melo & Sammy Guevara revealed last month they are expecting their first child in addition to WWE’s Alexa Bliss and singer/husband Ryan Cabrera.

Peyton Royce returning to pro wrestling for World Series Wrestling

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The former Peyton Royce is returning to professional wrestling.

World Series Wrestling in Australia announced that Cassie Lee, the former Peyton Royce, would be appearing on their upcoming Full Throttle tour that will take place on October 6-13.

After the promotion aired the announcement video, Lee wrote on Twitter “Let’s grapple!,” along with a gif that read “and I’m back in the game!”

Following their release from WWE in 2021, both Lee and Jessie McKay (Billie Kay), who teamed together in the WWE as the IIconics, signed with Impact Wrestling where they were known as The IInspiration, winning the Knockouts Tag Team titles. In April of last year, both Lee and McKay announced their departure from Impact Wrestling, announcing that they would be “indefinitely stepping away from in-ring action”.

Others announced for this fall’s WSW tour include The Motor City Machine Guns, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Cage, Speedball Mike Bailey, Matt Cardona, and Steph De Lander.

Cassie Lee and Shawn Spears welcome birth of first child

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Cassie Lee and AEW’s Shawn Spears have welcomed the birth of their first child. 

Lee and Spears announced in a social media post that their son, Austin Jay, was born on Tuesday, January 17. 

Lee, formerly known as Peyton Royce in WWE, and Spears, formerly Tye Dillinger in WWE, announced their marriage in August 2019. The couple revealed in August 2022 that they were expecting their first child. 

Spears returned to AEW television on October 13, 2022 following a five-month absence on a Rampage show in Toronto. A native of Ontario, Spears then worked a pair of indie shows in the province on October 15, but has been out of the ring since. 

Lee and longtime tag partner Jessie McKay announced in April 2022 that they were taking an indefinite break from in-ring work after a run in Impact Wrestling, including a stint as Knockouts Tag Team Champions. 

As the IIconics in WWE, Lee and McKay won the Women’s Tag Team titles at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019. 

Cassie Lee & AEW’s Shawn Spears expecting first child

Posted on by Ian Carey

Shawn Spears and Cassie Lee have announced they are expecting their first child. 

The couple took to social media on Wednesday to announce the news. Lee posted a video of her revealing to Spears that she is pregnant. 

“Can’t wait to meet you,” Lee captioned the video with. 

“OMG OMG OMG,” wrote Bayley in response to the post. 

“YOU GUYS!!! I am so immensely happy for you two! You’re going to be such incredible and loving parents,” Big E commented. 

“And I’m crying,” wrote Jwoww. 

“Wow this made me cry!! I’m so happy for you guys, congratulations!!!!” Velvet Sky wrote. 

Spears and Lee have been married since August 2019. 

Along with her partner, Jessie McKay, Lee announced in April that she was “indefinitely stepping away from in-ring action.” She was contracted to Impact Wrestling at the time. 

Spears is under contract to AEW. He last performed for the promotion on May 25 when he lost a steel cage match to Wardlow. 

  

The IInspiration indefinitely stepping away from in-ring action

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The IInspiration’s Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay are stepping away from the ring.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Lee and McKay announced that they are “indefinitely stepping away from in-ring action.” Lee and McKay had been part of the Impact Wrestling roster since signing with the promotion last October.

“We first want to thank Scott D’Amore and the entire IMPACT family,” Lee and McKay said. “We have had such an amazing experience, working with the incredible IMPACT staff and roster. We will cherish these IMPACT memories forever. We are excited to start a new chapter in our lives and explore other opportunities that may come our way.”

“The Inspiration have been a great part of IMPACT’s Knockouts roster and wonderful to work with,” Impact Wrestling executive vice president D’Amore said. “Cassie and Jessie are incredibly talented performers. Everyone at IMPACT wishes them every success in the future.”

The IInspiration were formerly known as The IIconics in WWE, using the names Peyton Royce and Billie Kay respectively. They were released by WWE during the company’s April 2021 roster cuts.

The IInspiration made their Impact Wrestling debut at Bound for Glory last October. In their debut match, Lee & McKay won the Knockouts Tag Team titles. They dropped the titles to The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne) at Sacrifice this March.

The Influence retained their titles against The IInspiration on the pre-show for Impact Wrestling’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view last Saturday.

Report: The IInspiration turned down WWE Royal Rumble offer

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The IInspiration will not be walking through The Forbidden Door. 

According to a Fightful Select report, Impact Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Champions Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay were offered spots in the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble match, but turned the offer down. 

The report cites an Impact Wrestling source that said that the company would have approved the deal, but that Lee and McKay did not want to go back to WWE at this time. 

Lee and McKay would have joined Knockouts Champion Mickie James as Impact talent participating in the Rumble had they accepted the offer. 

The IInspiration  joined Impact in October 2021 at the Bound For Glory pay-per-view, where they won the Knockouts Tag titles. The duo performed as The IIconics in WWE prior to their April 2021 releases. 

Performing as Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, the team captured the WWE Women’s Tag titles at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019, holding the titles for 120 days.

The IInspiration off Impact Hard to Kill due to COVID-19 exposure

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A title match has been pulled from the Hard to Kill card due to COVID-19 exposure.

Impact Wrestling announced today that The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) will miss Hard to Kill due to being in close contact with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19. It was noted that, out of an abundance of caution and with the health of their co-workers in mind, Lee & McKay will self-isolate this weekend.

The IInspiration were scheduled to defend their Knockouts Tag Team titles against The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood) at Saturday’s pay-per-view.

Lee & McKay won the titles from Rosemary & Havok at Bound for Glory last October. The match was Lee & McKay’s debut for Impact Wrestling.

Lee & McKay signed with Impact Wrestling after being released by WWE in April 2021.

“Impact’s COVID protocols are in place to keep our talent roster, staff and fans safe,” Impact Wrestling executive vice president Scott D’Amore said. “I am sure the fans will share The IInspiration’s and my disappointment that they won’t be in action at tomorrow’s stacked HARD TO KILL event, but we look forward to their return soon.”

The Factory in Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas is hosting Hard to Kill on Saturday night. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:

  • Impact World Champion Moose defends against Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey in a triple threat match
  • Texas death match: Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Deonna Purrazzo
  • X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Steve Maclin (if Maclin loses, he can’t challenge for the X-Division title again while Miguel is still champion)
  • ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Chris Sabin
  • Women’s Ultimate X match for a future Knockouts Championship shot: Jordynne Grace vs. Rosemary vs. Chelsea Green vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Lady Frost vs. Alisha Edwards
  • Josh Alexander vs. Jonah
  • Hardcore War 10-man tag match: Violent By Design (Eric Young, Joe Doering & Deaner) & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Eddie Edwards, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Heath & Rhino
  • Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin vs. Jake Something vs. Laredo Kid (pre-show)