Tag: jessie mckay

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.

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.

Former IIconics unveil new tag team name

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

The former IIconics have officially unveiled their new tag team name.

Cassie Lee (formerly known as Peyton Royce) and Jessie McKay (formerly known as Billie Kay) will be known as “The IInspiration” going forward. Lee and McKay filed a trademark for the name this June.

“Finally, IInspiration returns to professional wrestling,” Lee and McKay wrote today. “Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay present The IInspiration Tour Dates and cities to be announced soon.”

Highspots has announced that The IInspiration will be taking part in a virtual gimmick table on their Facebook page on Thursday, October 21. Highspots will also be presenting Lee & McKay as guests at WrestleCade Revenge weekend this November. The convention is taking place at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from Friday, November 26 to Sunday, November 28.

Lee and McKay were both released by WWE during a round of roster cuts this April. At the time of their release, Lee and McKay were on different brands and their tag team had been broken up. They held the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles together from April 2019 to August 2019.