 Legend in 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anriel Howard[4][3] May 6, 1997[4] |
| Life partner | Trick Williams (engaged) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Lash Legend[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1] |
| Billed from | Atlanta, Georgia[1] |
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center[2] |
| Debut | December 7, 2021[3] |
| Basketball career | |
| Career information | |
| High school | Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2019: 2nd round, 24th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Seattle Storm |
| Playing career | 2019–2019 |
| Position | Guard |
| Number | 5 |
| Career history | |
| 2019 | Seattle Storm |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Anriel Howard (born May 6, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. As of December 2020[update], she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Lash Legend. She is one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions with Nia Jax as The Irresistible Forces in their first reign as a team. Individually, it is Legend's first reign.
Howard is a former college and professional basketball player who played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Basketball career
College
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.[5] 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.[6][7]
During her time at Texas A&M, Howard was the first player in Texas A&M history to have over 1,000 career rebounds with the school, getting 1,002 rebounds.[8] She also set an NCAA Tournament record with 27 rebounds in a 2016 NCAA tournament game.[9] She was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team during her first year with the Aggies.[10]
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."[11]
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.[12][13]
College career statistics
| 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.[14] | |||||||||||||
WNBA
In the 2019 WNBA draft, Howard was taken 24th overall by the Seattle Storm.[15] 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.[16]
WNBA career statistics
| 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
| 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
WWE
Debut and early beginnings (2020–2023)
Howard signed with WWE on December 2, 2020.[17][18] She first appeared on the NXT 2.0 premiere in a backstage segment congratulating Bron Breakker, on his victory against LA Knight, and a week later NXT, Howard made her official debut during a backstage segment with Franky Monet, presenting herself as Lash Legend.[17] 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.[19] On the December 10 episode of 205 Live, Howard made her in-ring debut, defeating Amari Miller.[20]
In February 2022, Legend and Miller confirmed they would team up to compete at the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic;[21] however, the duo was lost in the first round to Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray.[22] On March 8, at NXT: Roadblock, Legend interviewed Nikkita Lyons during Lashing Out with Lash Legend, resulting in the two having a heated argument.[23] The two rival wrestlers faced each other on the April 5 and 26 episodes of NXT, where Legend lost to Lyons both times.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27]
The Meta-Four (2023–2025)
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.[28] Dar would introduce the group of himself, Legend, Jackson and Oro Mensah as The Meta-Four.[29] On the February 20, 2024, episode of NXT, Legend faced Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women's Championship in an open challenge. However, Legend failed to defeat Valkyria for the title.[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] On the October 18 episode of SmackDown, Legend defeated Piper Niven to win her debut singles match on the main roster.[34] On the October 22 episode of NXT, Legend and Jackson fought Sky and Sane to a no contest after interference from Niven and Chelsea Green.[35] 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.[36][37] On the November 29 tape delay episode of SmackDown, Legend replaced Cargill in the preliminary round of the tournament to crown the inaugural Women's United States Championship, where she lost to Michin in a triple threat match also involving Niven.[38] At Royal Rumble on February 1, 2025, Legend participated in her first Royal Rumble match as entrant #9, lasting 17 minutes before being eliminated by Chelsea Green, and scoring no eliminations. On the April 29 episode of NXT, Meta-Four would meet in a backstage segment in which they announced their mutual agreement to disband, sighting personal singles ventures.[39]
The Irresistible Forces (2025–present)
At Evolution on July 13, 2025, Legend entered the 20-woman battle royal and was the runner up of the match.[40] On the November 7, 2025 episode of SmackDown, Legend made her return to the blue brand as a heel by attacking Alexa Bliss, helping Nia Jax to win against Charlotte Flair, and in the process, aligning herself with Jax as a tag team.[41] At Survivor Series: WarGames, Legend and Jax teamed with Becky Lynch and The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) to face AJ Lee, Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, and Rhiyo (Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky) in the WarGames match in a losing effort.[42] On the February 27, 2026 episode of SmackDown, Legend and Jax, now known as The Irresistible Forces, defeated Rhiyo to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, marking the first championship in her career.[43]
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2025)
At Sacrifice on March 14, 2025, Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend made their Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut where they appeared after the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship match to confront the new champions Ash by Elegance and Heather by Elegance.[44] On the April 3 episode of Impact!, Jackson and Legend made their TNA in-ring debut, defeating Spitfire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat).[45] On April 27 at Rebellion, Jackson and Legend competed in a four-way tag team match for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship, but failed to win.[46]
Other media
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.[47]
Howard, as Lash Legend, made her video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K25.[48]
Personal life
Howard is engaged to fellow professional wrestler Matrick Belton, better known under the ring name Trick Williams.[49]
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 73 of the top 250 female wrestlers in the PWI Women's 250 in 2025[50]
- WWE
References
- ^ a b c "Lash Legend". WWE. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Lash Legend". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on August 25, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ a b Wilkinson, Nick (December 8, 2021). "Lash Legend to make her in-ring debut on this week's 205 Live". Diva Dirt. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Anriel Howard". WNBA. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ "Anriel Howard". ESPN.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. 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. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "2019 SEC Women's Basketball Awards announced". wtok.com. WTOK. March 5, 2019. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "Anriel Howard College Stats". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. 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. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". wwe.com. WWE. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. 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. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. 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. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. 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. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 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. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "WWE NXT results, Oct. 22, 2024: Zaria makes her shocking NXT debut". WWE. October 22, 2024. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Shepard, John (November 22, 2024). "WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN SPOILERS FOR NIGHT BEFORE SURVIVOR SERIES | PWInsider.com". PWInsider. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (April 29, 2025). "NXT TV results (4/29): Moore's review of Ricky Saints vs. Lexis King for the NXT North American Championship, Hank & Tank vs. Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura for the NXT Tag Team Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
- ^ Powell, Jason (July 13, 2025). "WWE Evolution results: Powell's live review of Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship, Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Powell, Jason (November 8, 2025). "WWE Smackdown results (11/7): Powell's live review of Ilja Dragunov's open challenge for the U.S. Title, Giulia vs. Chelsea Green for the Women's U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
- ^ Powell, Jason (November 29, 2025). "WWE Survivor Series WarGames results: Powell's review of two WarGames matches, John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Sharma, Ishaan (February 27, 2026). "Nia Jax & Lash Legend Win WWE Women's Tag Team Titles On 2/27 WWE SmackDown". Fightful. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (March 14, 2025). "TNA Sacrifice 2025 (3/14) Results: Steel Cage Match, Moose Defends Against Jeff Hardy In A Ladder Match, More | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "TNA iMPACT #1080 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ Powell, Jason (April 27, 2025). "TNA Rebellion results (4/27): Powell's review of Joe Hendry vs. Ethan Page vs. Frankie Kazarian for the TNA World Championship, Masha Slamovich vs. Tessa Blanchard for the Knockouts Title, Ultimate X". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ Lawson, Thomas (September 30, 2024). "Lash Legend's New Cooking Show Promises Delicious Dishes & WWE Guests". SEScoops. Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "WWE 2K25 Roster". WWE 2K. Archived from the original on July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
- ^ @ungodlyrollins. "need jassi back on real housewives of potomac next season so we can get another lash legend cameo 🙂↕️". Twitter. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Ross, Patrick (November 11, 2025). "Full 2025 PWI Women's 250 list revealed". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
External links
- Lash Legend's profile at WWE , Cagematch , Wrestlingdata , Internet Wrestling Database
- Anriel Howard's Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs bio
- Anriel Howard's Texas A&M Aggies bio
- Anriel Howard at IMDb
- 1997 births
- Living people
- 21st-century female professional wrestlers
- 21st-century American professional wrestlers
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- Professional wrestling managers and valets
- Professional wrestlers from Atlanta
- American female professional wrestlers
- American women's basketball players
- Forwards (basketball)
- Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball players
- Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball players
- Basketball players from Atlanta
- Track and field athletes from Atlanta
- Seattle Storm players
- Seattle Storm draft picks
- WWE personnel
- WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
