Right at the end of September, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay were forced to disband The IIconics after spending years together. It was an abrupt break-up from a stipulation match against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. The stipulation stated that the losing team must break-up.
Ultimately, it was clear that the plan was to push Peyton Royce as a singles superstar and that is a process and journey that has begun for her. With a new theme song and approach, Peyton Royce is still finding her footing. Speaking to Kayla Braxton on The Braxton Beat (H/T WrestleZone.com), Peyton Royce explained why the experience of being away from Billie Kay is so strange:
"It’s going to take some time for me to, like, find my footing on my own, even aside that we’re not a tag team anymore, the fact that she’s on SmackDown and I’m on RAW. We have never been on different brands like this. It’s to be so strange. I’ve never had to be at TVs without her. She keeps me sane. She’s just like my safety blanket and I’m not going to have that and I’m going to have to put on my panties and work it out for myself.”
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Explaining how different the singles division is, Peyton Royce said that she's still getting used to life without Billie Kay:
“The singles division is completely different to the women’s tag team division. I know it’s the same for the men, too, but there are so many people who, you know, I will hopefully have the opportunity to get in the ring with now that I’m in the singles division. But again, it’s going to take some getting used to even just doing my entrance without her. It’s just strange.”
What is Peyton Royce's ceiling as a singles star?
Peyton Royce has proved in the last few years that she has the potential as an in-ring competitor on her own. She has a great look and a good moveset to compliment it.
The area where she likely needs to find her strength is her overall character, which may require her to completely isolate herself from The IIconics chapter of her career.
It will be interesting to see how Peyton Royce's career progresses and we wouldn't be surprised to see WWE take their own sweet time when pushing her. With that said, she certainly has the potential to be a Women's Champion.