Peyton Royce hasn’t been given much to do on WWE television in recent months, but the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion managed to turn heads on social media this weekend when she posted a topless photo on Instagram. Royce tagged the photo, showing her covering up while wearing bikini bottoms and a pair of Vans sneakers, with “Freedom is a stage of mind.” Within two hours the photo already had more than 100,000 likes, and numerous WWE stars commented on it. One of the most notable comments came from Royce’s husband and AEW star Shawn Spears, who wrote, “Yowza!!!”
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“I was there for this pic… speechless then and speechless now. MY GIRL,” Royce’s tag partner Billie Kay wrote.
“Move your arm,” Naomi jokingly wrote.
“Okuuurrrrrr,” Mandy Rose added.
Other stars like Lacey Evans, Torrie Wilson, Natalya and Live Morgan all commented as well.
Royce (real name Cassie McIntosh) first started training with NXT in April 2015. She and Kay first started working together in late 2016, and the two were eventually moved up to the main roster as a pair in April 2018. The pair won the tag titles at WrestleMania 35 from Sasha Banks & Bayley as part of a four-way match, and set a new record for longest reign with the titles at 120 days (though they tended to avoid actually defending the belts on television). The pair eventually dropped the titles to Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross, and their record was broken this past week by The Kabuki Warriors.
Neither Royce nor Kay have wrestled since losing to Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair on a November episode of Raw.
It looks like WWE’s Women’s Division is going to have a busy couple of weeks, starting this Monday when Becky Lynch will defend her Raw Women’s Championship in a Royal Rumble rematch against Asuka. That will be followed up on Feb. 16 when Rhea Ripley defends her NXT Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair at NXT TakeOver: Portland. And based on what happened on NXT this week, whoever wins that match will likely face Charlotte Flair in a title at at WrestleMania 36 in April.
Meanwhile over on the SmackDown brand, Carmella earned a shot at Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship this past Friday. That title match will take place in Saudi Arabia at the Super ShowDown event on Feb. 27.
