Lash Legend
Lash Legend | |
---|---|
Birth name | Anriel Howard[1][2] |
Born | [1] Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1] | May 6, 1997
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Lash Legend[3] |
Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[3] |
Billed weight | 174 lb (79 kg) |
Trained by | WWE Performance Center |
Debut | December 7, 2021[2] |
Basketball career | |
Personal information | |
Born | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | May 6, 1997
Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Career information | |
High school | Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia) |
College |
|
WNBA draft | 2019: 2nd round, 24th overall pick |
Selected by the Seattle Storm | |
Playing career | 2019–present |
Position | Guard |
Number | 5 |
Career history | |
2019 | Seattle Storm |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Anriel Howard (born May 6, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently 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
[edit]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
[edit]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]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
[edit]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 beginnings (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]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]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Anriel Howard". WNBA. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Lash Legend". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "Anriel Howard". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Cessna, Robert (October 8, 2014). "Texas A&M women's basketball gets commitment from Atlanta recruit". theeagle.com. The Eagle. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Faulk, Robbie. "BREAKING: Anriel Howard to Transfer to MSU for Senior Year". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Ladarius (September 16, 2022). "Lash Legend From the Court to the Ring". beyondwomenssports.com. Beyond Women's Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "Howard sets NCAA Tournament rebound record in Aggies win". si.com. SI. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "2016 SEC Women's Basketball Awards announced". secsports.com. SEC Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Faulk, Robbie. "Anriel Howard Details Decision to Transfer to MSU". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Feinberg, Doug. "Napheesa Collier leads 2018-19 AP women's All-America team 00:00 / 00:00". NCAA.com. AP. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "2019 SEC Women's Basketball Awards announced". wtok.com. WTOK. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "Anriel Howard College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ Horka, Tyler. "Mississippi State's Anriel Howard taken by Seattle Storm in WNBA Draft". clarionledger.com. Clarion Ledger. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Wolstanholme, Danny (September 23, 2021). "Who is Lash Legend, making her debut on WWE NXT?". Sportskeeda. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". wwe.com. WWE. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Canton, John (September 29, 2021). "The John Report: WWE NXT 09/28/21 Review". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ Wilkinson, Nick (December 10, 2021). "Lash Legend impresses in debut win on 205 Live". Diva Dirt. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Berge, Kevin (April 6, 2022). "WWE NXT 2.0 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 5". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ Aiken, Chris (May 24, 2022). "WWE NXT live results: Breakker vs. Hudson, Rose vs. Hartwell". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Noam Dar introduces “The Meta-Four”: WWE NXT highlights, June 6, 2023, retrieved June 8, 2023
- ^ Berge, Kevin (February 20, 2024). "WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Feb. 20". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Tessier, Colin (March 26, 2024). "The Meta-Four Announced As The Hosts Of NXT Stand & Deliver 2024 | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Berge, Kevin (July 30, 2024). "WWE NXT Great American Bash 2024 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Lash Legend's WWE profile
- Lash Legend's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs bio
- Texas A&M Aggies bio
- Lash Legend on X
- Lash Legend at IMDb
- 1997 births
- Living people
- 21st-century female professional wrestlers
- Professional wrestling managers and valets
- Sportspeople from Atlanta
- American female professional wrestlers
- American women's basketball players
- Forwards (basketball)
- Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball players
- Texas A&M Aggies women's track and field athletes
- Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball players
- Basketball players from Atlanta
- Track and field athletes from Atlanta
- Professional wrestlers from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Seattle Storm players
- Seattle Storm draft picks