Lash Legend | |
---|---|
Birth name | Anriel Howard[1][2] |
Born | [1] Atlanta, Georgia, United States[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] |
Anriel Howard (born May 6, 1997) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where she performs on its NXT brand under the ring name Lash Legend. She is also a former college and professional (WNBA) basketball player where she played three games for the Seattle Storm.
Howard signed with WWE on December 2, 2020.[4][5] 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.[4] On the September 28 episode of NXT, Legend began being regularly featured as host a pre-taped talk show segment, Lashing Out with Lash Legend.[6] On the December 10 episode of 205 Live, Howard made her in-ring debut, defeating Amari Miller and establishing herself as a heel.[7]
In February 2022, Legend and Miller confirmed they would team up to compete at the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic;[8] however, the duo was lost in the first round to Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray.[9] On March 1, after both teams were argued each other, this led to a rematch where Legend defeated Miller. On March 8, at Roadblock, Legend interviewed Nikkita Lyons during Lashing Out with Lash Legend, resulting in the two having a heated argument.[10] The two rival wrestlers faced each other on the April 5 and 26 episodes of NXT, where Legend lost to Lyons both times.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] They had their first televised appearance as a team on the November 11 episode of NXT Level Up, where they lost to Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley.[14]
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.[15] Legend and Jackson would win their first match as a team at NXT Gold Rush by defeating Valentine Feroz and Yulisa Leon.