From the moment he or she enters the business, it’s what every professional wrestler dreams of: fighting in a WrestleMania match with the world watching.
WrestleMania, which premiered in 1985, is widely recognized as the biggest event on the professional wrestling calendar and is where WWE superstars can cement their legacy.
On Saturday, Atlanta native Lash Legend will make her WrestleMania debut in Las Vegas, defending her WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Nia Jax in what’s being billed as a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match. The Bella Twins, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss and Bayley and Lyra Valkyria will supply powerful competition for Legend and Jax, known as “the Irresistible Forces.”
WrestleMania 42 continues Sunday from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.
Credit: WWE
Credit: WWE
Having signed with WWE in 2020, Legend had dreamed of this moment from when she watched Bianca Belair defeat Sasha Banks to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship in 2021. It was the first time two Black wrestlers headlined the flagship event.
“Once I got to WWE and I saw that WrestleMania match, I realized I wanted that for myself and I want to have that same level of impact and have that WrestleMania moment,” Legend told the AJC. “I have been dreaming of this since I saw that match and saw that I was capable of that. The feeling I had watching that match, that’s what I want to give to young girls or anybody watching — that they can do this, too.”
After five years on WWE NXT, the wrestling juggernaut’s developmental brand, Legend made her official main roster debut on WWE SmackDown in November.
She quickly established herself as one of the most exciting prospects on the women’s roster, gaining a reputation with dominant performances at major pay-per-view events. She claimed her first title, teaming up with Jax to become WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, in February.
Showcasing her natural athleticism and dominance in the ring, Legend has earned the nickname “the Boujee Bully.”
In fact, it was during her basketball career, when Anriel Howard (Legend’s real name) was drafted by the WNBA’s Seattle Storm following an impressive college basketball run at Texas A&M, that she started to develop the persona of, well, a heel.
“With ‘the Boujee Bully,’ I feel like this was also within me, but I just didn’t have the name,” Legend said. “I came from basketball and I bullied people on the court. To this day, I still have the most rebounds in an NCAA tournament game (27, in a 2016 first-round game vs. Missouri State). To have that accolade shows that you have to be physical, dominant and not afraid to throw some elbows here and there. That nature of being aggressive has always been there.”
The athlete also heavily credits her Atlanta upbringing for helping to shape her wrestling persona, claiming that the person she is on WWE telecasts is just a heightened version of her natural personality.
“The culture is so turnt up,” Legend said of her hometown. “We are lit. We are lively and everyone has so much confidence. I love how there are so many successful people, successful Black people at that as well. … Being from Atlanta, you see so much excellence, and it has become the standard. I didn’t have a choice.”
One of the biggest names in wrestling from Georgia in recent years is upcoming WWE Hall of Fame inductee AJ Styles.
Following his defeat to Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble, “The Phenomenal One” retired during an emotional appearance on “Monday Night Raw” at State Farm Arena in Atlanta in February.
“That was a beautiful moment to see in our city,” Legend said. Styles “has done so much for the business. … It was cool to see everybody support the wonderful legacy that he’s had and the amazing moment he’s created for so long. A lot of people, both guys and girls, have learned from him.”
Legend praised Styles for being “a killer inside the ring” and a stand-up guy outside it. She said the veteran wrestler quietly tried to help her and her fiance, wrestler Trick Williams, navigate their careers.
“That meant the most” she said, “for someone who has been in the business for so long wants to pay it forward.”
As AJ Styles retires, he passes the torch to the next generation of superstars. And with Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams, Dominik Mysterio, Bron Breakker, Lash Legend and many more, the future of the WWE appears to be in safe hands.
Legend believes the next crop of WWE stars is different from what fans have seen before, as many of the wrestlers now come from athletic backgrounds — in track, American football, basketball, gymnastics and more.
“There are so many athletic people nowadays and it has set the standard: You have to be athletic to be in the ring,” said Legend, who noted that there also are a lot of entertainers entering the ring.
“This era of wrestling just hits different,” she said. “It’s cool to see all of the different diversities and what everyone can bring to the table and the magic we can create in the ring together with all of the different personalities.”
ON TV
WrestleMania 42
6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Saturday’s opening hour will air on ESPN2; Sunday’s first hour will air on ESPN. Both days’ events also will be streamed on the ESPN app. Match cards details: wwe.com.
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