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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

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. 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.

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. She also set an NCAA Tournament record with 27 rebounds in a 2016 NCAA tournament game. She was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team during her first year with the Aggies.

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."

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.

College career statistics

WNBA

In the 2019 WNBA draft, Howard was taken 24th overall by the Seattle Storm. 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.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Professional wrestling career

WWE

Early career & NXT (2020–2023)

Howard signed with WWE on December 2, 2020. 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. 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. On the December 10 episode of 205 Live, Howard made her in-ring debut, defeating Amari Miller.

In February 2022, Legend and Miller confirmed they would team up to compete at the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic; however, the duo was lost in the first round to Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray. On March 8, at NXT: Roadblock, Legend interviewed Nikkita Lyons during Lashing Out with Lash Legend, resulting in the two having a heated argument. The two rival wrestlers faced each other on the April 5 and 26 episodes of NXT, where Legend lost to Lyons both times. 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.

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. 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.

The Meta-Four (2023–present)

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. Dar would introduce the group of himself, Legend, Jackson and Oro Mensah as The Meta-Four. 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. 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. 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.

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. On the October 18 episode of SmackDown, Legend defeated Piper Niven to win her debut singles match on the main roster. 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. 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. 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.

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.

References

1. ^ "Anriel Howard". WNBA. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
2. ^ 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. ^ "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.
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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.
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31. Berge, Kevin (July 30, 2024). "WWE NXT Great American Bash 2024 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
32. 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.
33. 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.
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38. Lawson, Thomas (September 30, 2024). "Lash Legend's New Cooking Show Promises Delicious Dishes & WWE Guests". SEScoops. Retrieved October 18, 2024.

External links

• 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 Twitter
• Lash Legend at IMDb

• 1997 births
• Living people
• 21st-century female professional wrestlers
• 21st-century American 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
• 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
• 21st-century American sportswomen