Peyton Royce, Billie Kay can both get a push as singles wrestlers

WWE have broken up Peyton Royce and Billie Kay as a tag team, but they don’t have to choose one over the other.

There are two myths in WWE that hurt wrestlers but are often perpetuated by the company’s booking. Firstly, that if a tag team breaks up, one wrestler gets pushed and the other gets thrown to the wayside. And secondly, that we have to pit two women against each other and only have the room to push one of them.

I worry that amidst the rumors of Peyton Royce being seen as a singles star and her impending push as the reason for the IIconics abruptly breaking up (which very few fans wanted to see in the first place), Billie Kay will be given the short end of the stick booking-wise.

Between the two of them, Royce generally wrestles the longer matches, and Kay was once her manager in NXT before becoming a title contender in her own right. Royce is one of the more talented wrestlers on Monday Night Raw, so it’s understandable that she’d be earmarked for a bigger push. Many fans see her as a future women’s champion on Raw or SmackDown, as she was very close to winning the NXT Women’s Title.

Both Royce and Kay do not have to be pushed equally, that is not the argument here. Not everyone can be treated the same in terms of who gets a title opportunity or who gets more matches, so if Royce is deemed as the better wrestler or the bigger star, then it’s perfectly fine to give her a stronger push.

WWE should not neglect Billie Kay’s value

However, that doesn’t mean Kay should be neglected. She’s a very talented performer, too, and she excels with her acting and promo skills. Kay is one of the best heels in the company at getting a face over with her acting in the ring and at ringside, as well as with spoken word. It’s very easy to underrate Kay, but she can have a key role to play in the WWE Women’s Division as a singles wrestler.

Kay doesn’t have to be a champion or one of the top stars on the brand to have an impact. We fall into this trap of thinking that WWE’s Women’s Division can’t have wrestlers who are important parts of the division without necessarily being weekly title contenders. Think of all the great, even legendary, wrestlers like Kevin Owens, The Miz, and Samoa Joe who don’t need to be champions to have a profound impact on Raw or SmackDown. 

There’s room for WWE to give Kay and Royce meaningful roles as singles stars. Both women are very talented, they’ve been strong contributors for years, and they should both benefit if they are to go their separate ways.