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Lash Legend

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Lash Legend
Birth nameAnriel Howard[1][2]
Born (1997-05-06) May 6, 1997 (age 27)[1]
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Lash Legend[3]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3]
Billed weight174 lb (79 kg)
Trained byWWE Performance Center
DebutDecember 7, 2021[2]
Basketball career
Personal information
Born (1997-05-06) May 6, 1997 (age 27)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Career information
High schoolWestlake
(Atlanta, Georgia)
College
WNBA draft2019: 2nd round, 24th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle Storm
Playing career2019–present
PositionGuard
Number5
Career history
2019Seattle Storm
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-SEC (2019)
  • AP Honorable Mention All-American (2019)
  • SEC All-Freshman Team (2016)
Stats at Basketball Reference

Anriel Howard (born May 6, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lash Legend and is a member of The Meta-Four stable. Howard was a former college and professional basketball player who played three games for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Basketball career

[edit]

College

[edit]

Howard came out of high school as the 100th rated recruit of the 2015 Class per ESPN's HoopGurlz rankings. She was also rated the 15th best forward at her position.[4] Howard committed to play for Texas A&M. She played for them for three seasons before she transferred to Mississippi State for her senior season.[5][6]

During her time at Texas A&M, Howard was a rebounding machine. Howard was the first player in Texas A&M history to have over 1,000 career rebounds with the school, getting 1,002 rebounds.[7] She also set an NCAA Tournament record with 27 rebounds in a 2016 NCAA tournament game.[8] She was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team during her first year with the Aggies.[9]

Howard announced she was going to transfer following her junior season, and ultimately chose to go to Mississippi State. Howard stated, “As soon as I landed I felt like it was the place...In high school when I was recruited, I just felt like Texas A&M was the place for me on my visit. Usually when I go on a visit there’s something that I question, but I just never got that feeling and that was the first time ever."[10]

She was named to the 2019 First Team All-SEC by both the Associated Press (AP) and Coaches, 2019 SEC All-Tournament Team, and to the 2019 AP All-American Honorable Mention team during her one season with the Bulldogs.[11][12]

College career statistics

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015–16 Texas A&M 32 17 16.9 .465 0.0 .558 6.5 0.4 0.7 0.3 1.1 4.6
2016–17 Texas A&M 34 34 31.1 .415 .500 .660 10.4 0.9 1.5 0.3 2.0 10.2
2017–18 Texas A&M 36 36 33.6 .441 .308 .752 12.2 1.9 1.0 0.4 2.1 12.1
2018–19 Mississippi State 36 36 29.1 .512 .337 .725 8.4 1.5 1.1 0.5 2.1 16.4
Career 138 123 27.9 .462 .331 .701 9.4 1.2 1.1 0.4 1.8 11.0
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[13]

WNBA

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In the 2019 WNBA draft, Howard was taken 24th overall by the Seattle Storm.[14] After debuting against the Minnesota Lynx on May 29, Howard played a total of three games with the Storm. She was waived from the team early in the season.[15]

WNBA career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Seattle 3 0 6.7 .400 .500 .000 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.7 1.7
Career 3 0 6.7 .400 .500 .000 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.7 1.7

Professional wrestling career

[edit]

WWE (2020–present)

[edit]

Early career & NXT (2020–2023)

[edit]

Howard signed with WWE on December 2, 2020.[16][17] On the September 21, 2021, episode of NXT, Howard made her televised debut during a backstage segment with Franky Monet, presenting herself as Lash Legend.[16] On the September 28 episode of NXT, Legend began being regularly featured as host of a pre-taped talk show segment, Lashing Out with Lash Legend.[18] On the December 10 episode of 205 Live, Howard made her in-ring debut, defeating Amari Miller.[19]

In February 2022, Legend and Miller confirmed they would team up to compete at the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic;[20] however, the duo was lost in the first round to Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray.[21] On March 1, after Legend and Miller argued, there was a rematch where Legend defeated Miller. On March 8, at NXT: Roadblock, Legend interviewed Nikkita Lyons during Lashing Out with Lash Legend, resulting in the two having a heated argument.[22] The two rival wrestlers faced each other on the April 5 and 26 episodes of NXT, where Legend lost to Lyons both times.[23] At Spring Breakin', Legend and Natalya lost to Cora Jade and Lyons in a tag team match. Shortly after, Legend entered the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament; she lost to Roxanne Perez in the semifinals.[24] After Alba Fyre defeated Tatum Paxley on the June 7 episode of NXT, Legend attacked her starting a feud between the two. Legend lost to Fyre on the June 21 episode of NXT by disqualification after she attacked Fyre with the latter's bat and on the August 2 episode of NXT.

Over the next few months, Legend would lose to the likes of Fallon Henley, Wendy Choo, Shotzi and Lyra Valkyria while also failing to win title opportunities in battle royals. Since of August 2022, through live events, Legend found an ally in Jakara Jackson.[25] They had their first televised appearance as a team on the November 11 episode of NXT Level Up, where they lost to Diamond Mine's Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley.[26]

The Meta-Four (2023–present)

[edit]
See also: The Meta-Four

On May 28, 2023, at NXT Battleground, during a British Rounds Rules match for the NXT Heritage Cup between the champion Noam Dar and Dragon Lee, Legend alongside Jackson interfered in favor of Dar, helping him to retain the Heritage Cup in the process.[27] Dar would introduce the group of himself, Legend, Jackson and Oro Mensah as The Meta-Four.[28] Legend and Jackson would win their first match as a team at NXT: Gold Rush by defeating Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon. On the February 20, 2024, episode of NXT, Legend faced Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women's Championship in an open challenge after Valkyria's initial opponent, Shotzi, suffered a torn ACL halfway through their title match. However, Legend failed to defeat Valkyria for the title.[29] On March 26, it was announced that The Meta-Four will be the host of NXT Stand & Deliver.[30] At NXT Battleground, she participated in a six-women ladder match to crown the first NXT Women's North American Championship, but failed to win the championship.[31] At Week 1 of NXT: The Great American Bash on July 30, Jackson and Legend failed to defeat The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship; prior to their match, Legend and the rest of The Meta-Four turned face when stablemate Oro Mensah began feuding with Ethan Page, who attacked him and Noam Dar backstage back in May.[32]

On the October 11 episode of SmackDown, Legend and Jackson made their main roster debut where they unsuccessfully challenged WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill for the title.[33] Legend and Jackson made their second main roster appearance days later on the October 14 episode of Raw, where they costed Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane) their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match from ringside.[34] On the October 18 episode of SmackDown, Legend defeated Piper Niven to win her debut singles match on the main roster.[35] On the October 22 episode of NXT, Legend and Jackson fought Damage CTRL to a no contest after interference from Niven and Chelsea Green.[36] On the following episode of SmackDown, the three brands' general managers announced that Belair and Cargill will defend their titles against Legend and Jackson, Sky and Sane, and Green and Niven in a fatal four-way tag team match at Crown Jewel where Belair and Cargill retained their titles.[37][38]

Other media

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On September 30, 2024, Howard, as Lash Legend, announced her new YouTube series, Dash of Lash, a weekly cooking show premiering on October 17 which will also feature NXT wrestlers as guests.[39]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Anriel Howard". WNBA. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Wilkinson, Nick (December 8, 2021). "Lash Legend to make her in-ring debut on this week's 205 Live". Diva Dirt. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Lash Legend". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "Anriel Howard". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Cessna, Robert (October 8, 2014). "Texas A&M women's basketball gets commitment from Atlanta recruit". theeagle.com. The Eagle. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Faulk, Robbie. "BREAKING: Anriel Howard to Transfer to MSU for Senior Year". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Brown, Ladarius (September 16, 2022). "Lash Legend From the Court to the Ring". beyondwomenssports.com. Beyond Women's Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "Howard sets NCAA Tournament rebound record in Aggies win". si.com. SI. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "2016 SEC Women's Basketball Awards announced". secsports.com. SEC Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  10. ^ Faulk, Robbie. "Anriel Howard Details Decision to Transfer to MSU". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Feinberg, Doug. "Napheesa Collier leads 2018-19 AP women's All-America team 00:00 / 00:00". NCAA.com. AP. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  12. ^ "2019 SEC Women's Basketball Awards announced". wtok.com. WTOK. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  13. ^ "Anriel Howard College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Horka, Tyler. "Mississippi State's Anriel Howard taken by Seattle Storm in WNBA Draft". clarionledger.com. Clarion Ledger. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Doss, Kim (June 5, 2019). "Seattle Storm waive Anriel Howard, sign Blake Dietrick in a pair of moves". highposthoops.com. High Post Hoops. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Wolstanholme, Danny (September 23, 2021). "Who is Lash Legend, making her debut on WWE NXT?". Sportskeeda. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  17. ^ "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". wwe.com. WWE. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  18. ^ Canton, John (September 29, 2021). "The John Report: WWE NXT 09/28/21 Review". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  19. ^ Wilkinson, Nick (December 10, 2021). "Lash Legend impresses in debut win on 205 Live". Diva Dirt. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  20. ^ Wilkinson, Nick (February 18, 2022). "Amari Miller and Lash Legend to team up for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic". Diva Dirt. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  21. ^ Moore, John (February 22, 2022). "2/22 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dolph Ziggler for a shot at the NXT Title, LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller, and Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray vs. Amari Miller and Lash Legend, and Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley vs. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  22. ^ Moore, John (March 8, 2022). "3/8 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of the Roadblock themed show featuring Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Title, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Titles, LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller in a Last Man Standing match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  23. ^ Berge, Kevin (April 6, 2022). "WWE NXT 2.0 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 5". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  24. ^ Aiken, Chris (May 24, 2022). "WWE NXT live results: Breakker vs. Hudson, Rose vs. Hartwell". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  25. ^ Renner, Ethan (October 27, 2022). "Jakara Jackson to debut on WWE NXT Level Up". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  26. ^ Chik, Jon (November 10, 2022). "NXT Level Up results: Nov. 11, 2022". WWE. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  27. ^ Moore, John (May 28, 2023). "NXT Battleground results: Moore's live review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship, Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria for the vacant NXT Women's Title, Gallus vs. The Creeds for the NXT Tag Team Titles, Wes Lee vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Gacy in a Triple Threat for the NXT North American Title, Noam Dar vs. Dragon Lee for the NXT Heritage Cup". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  28. ^ Noam Dar introduces "The Meta-Four": WWE NXT highlights, June 6, 2023, retrieved June 8, 2023
  29. ^ Berge, Kevin (February 20, 2024). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Feb. 20". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  30. ^ Tessier, Colin (March 26, 2024). "The Meta-Four Announced As The Hosts Of NXT Stand & Deliver 2024 | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  31. ^ Chiari, Mike (June 10, 2024). "Kelani Jordan Wins 1st-Ever NXT Women's North American Title at Battleground". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  32. ^ Berge, Kevin (July 30, 2024). "WWE NXT Great American Bash 2024 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  33. ^ Brennan, Corey (October 11, 2024). "Bianca Belair And Jade Cargill Defeat Meta-Four To Retain WWE Women's Tag Titles On WWE 10/11 SmackDown | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  34. ^ Russell, Skylar (October 14, 2024). "Jade Cargill And Bianca Belair Retain Women's Tag Titles On WWE Raw, Jakara Jackson And Lash Legend Appear In The Crowd | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  35. ^ Powell, Jason (October 18, 2024). "WWE Smackdown results (10/18): Powell's review of Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa, Cody Rhodes on facing Gunther, Motor City Machine Guns debut in one of two Triple Threat qualifiers for a future WWE Tag Title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  36. ^ "WWE NXT results, Oct. 22, 2024: Zaria makes her shocking NXT debut". WWE. October 22, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  37. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 25, 2024). "Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair are set to defend their title in a Fatal 4-Way Match". WWE. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  38. ^ Chiari, Mike (November 3, 2024). "Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill Retain WWE Women's Tag Titles at Crown Jewel 2024". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  39. ^ Lawson, Thomas (September 30, 2024). "Lash Legend's New Cooking Show Promises Delicious Dishes & WWE Guests". SEScoops. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
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