So, I found myself going down a rabbit hole watching wrestling stuff the other day, and Peyton Royce, or Cassie Lee as she goes by now sometimes, kinda caught my eye again. Not just the matches, but the whole presentation. I got curious, you know? What made her style work, especially back in the IIconics days?
I decided to actually sit down and watch some old matches properly. Not just highlights, but full entrances, the bits between moves, the promos. It’s different when you really look. I started digging around, trying to find stuff from her earlier career too, before the main roster spotlight hit so hard. It’s a bit of a mess trying to piece together careers like that sometimes, footage scattered everywhere.
Watching Closely
What I noticed first was the character work. It wasn’t just moves in the ring. It was the walk, the way she and Billie Kay played off each other. That entrance they had? Annoying as heck to the other characters, but kinda brilliant from a performance standpoint. They committed to it, fully. I spent a good afternoon just watching entrances and how they interacted with the crowd, or ignored them, depending on the bit.
Then I started looking at her specific movements in the ring. She had this way of moving that was quite fluid, but also sharp when it needed to be. There was this spinning heel kick she did, looked pretty smooth. But honestly, the main thing was the persona. It meshed with her actual wrestling.
Trying Something (and Failing Mostly)
Okay, so here’s the practice part. I thought, let me try and mimic that iconic IIconics pose they always did. You know the one. Back to back, leaning, the whole deal. Sounds simple, right? Well, I stood in my living room and tried it. Felt like a complete plank. Seriously awkward. You don’t realize how much attitude and specific muscle control goes into just standing like that for a performance until you try it cold. It’s not just leaning; it’s projecting something.
I didn’t even bother trying any actual moves. If I couldn’t even nail a pose without feeling ridiculous, trying a spinning kick seemed like a bad idea waiting to happen. It just gives you respect for performers who make this stuff look effortless. They practice this constantly, not just the wrestling holds, but the whole character embodiment.
It got me thinking about how much work goes into things that look simple on screen. We just see the final product. We don’t see the hours of practice, the bumps, the figuring out what works for your character, the constant travel. It’s easy to just criticize online, but doing even a tiny part of it yourself, even just a pose, kinda grounds you.
So yeah, that was my little dive into the Peyton Royce performance style. Didn’t exactly become an IIconic myself, not even close. But I definitely got a better appreciation for the craft and the effort involved. It’s more than just knowing how to wrestle; it’s knowing how to perform.
