From WNBA to WWE Superstar: Lash Legend’s WrestleMania Debut | Andscape

0:02 I love everything about Lash Legend.

0:04 For many people, that is the future of [music] the women's division right there.

0:07 I just am so blessed to be here and I'm just overwhelmed

0:10 with so much emotion and excitement and I'm ready to get it done.

0:14 It's indescribable.

0:15 We come from a very athletic family.

0:17 I've been to many arenas, but I've never seen the likes of this.

0:21 So, I'm super excited.

0:22 Wrestlemania is literally here.

0:24 I'm about to go out there and I'm just going to be in the moment.

0:33 those 5 and a half years at NXT and you

0:36 know things not going [music] the way that I thought.

0:37 I felt like everything is now like making sense to get the nickname Lash.

0:49 Lash comes from my former collegiate persona.

0:53 I would say my former nickname on the court which was lashes.

0:57 I definitely feel like I was like one of the first girls to just be so girly.

1:01 I felt like, you know, you look good, you feel good,

1:03 you play good, but I'm not afraid to get down and dirty.

1:06 Enrail Howard is your new NCAA tournament record

1:12 holder for rebounds in a game with 27.

1:16 I got the opportunity to be drafted.

1:18 I was drafted 24 second round,

1:21 but eventually somewhere mid-season injuries came apart.

1:25 So, they got rid of the only WKY.

1:27 During this time period of figuring out my next move,

1:29 I got an opportunity to try out for WWE.

1:34 Okay, girls.

1:35 One more round.

1:36 Keep going.

1:38 I'm the one and only, baby.

1:40 She was one of the favorites early on from everybody.

1:43 Uh, as soon as we saw her, we knew that it was

1:46 really not a question of if she was going to make it.

1:49 It was just when.

1:50 Introducing first from Atlanta, GEORGIA, [screaming] LEGEND.

1:59 We threw her out there pretty quickly.

2:02 She was somebody that you could tell right away was a competitor.

2:06 A lot of the times I [music] felt like I gave a lot, gave a lot, gave a lot,

2:10 and I truly wasn't understanding, you know,

2:13 the things of why things [music] weren't happening

2:15 the way that I thought they should go.

2:16 With me and Sean, I was trying to understand

2:18 what it was completely that he wanted from me.

2:21 What is [music] it that you need for your show?

2:23 I didn't understand why if I do A through Z,

2:27 then why am I not getting the things that I know I deserve?

2:30 We want to be the champion.

2:31 We want to be the face of the company.

2:33 And [music] I know cuz I spoke to her when I would

2:36 go down there how difficult it was for her because you do.

2:40 You feel like you're being passed up.

2:41 And I just remember her saying like, I don't know if I can do this anymore.

2:45 [music] like they don't see me as this person.

2:47 I don't know why I'm working so hard to do this.

2:50 I try not [music] to ever be a quitter in anything I do.

2:53 And I think that was the main thing.

2:54 I'm like, "No, it's so much potential that I had."

2:57 I guess I always looked at Bash as somebody that once

3:00 they saw her, you were going to expect a lot from her.

3:04 You know, we knew that she was going

3:05 to have to be consistently good on a regular basis.

3:09 And when you challenge her, she's someone that, you know,

3:13 pure speculation on my part because I can't get into her head.

3:17 But I felt that when we challenged her, she got angry in a positive

3:22 way and it made and it just drove her to work harder.

3:27 My biggest fear, and I don't like saying it out loud,

3:29 but my biggest fear is not living up to the potential that I know I have.

3:33 So someone like Ariel, alltime rebounder at her college,

3:44 [music] you know, SEC champion, you know, triple athlete,

3:48 she did track and field, she did basketball,

3:50 she did volleyball, she did all these different things.

3:53 So she doesn't understand what it feels like to not win.

3:57 We spent countless hours trying to understand why certain things happening,

4:02 why certain things weren't happening.

4:04 And I saw her, you know, go through ups.

4:06 I saw her go through downs.

4:08 She had voiced, you know, she was just she's like, I don't know.

4:11 I want I just want to come up.

4:12 I I want to be able to to, you know,

4:14 showcase it on the main roster and get called up.

4:17 I said, there will be a time where it's perfect

4:19 for you to be called up and it'll be your time.

4:22 Want to give it a shot?

4:25 Are you ready or not?

4:27 I was born to play this game.

4:31 No one said it in my

4:35 I love everything about Lash Legend taking this wall by storm.

4:39 But watch out.

4:40 LOOK AT LASH SLAMMING DOWN HOME.

4:42 She's a powerhouse.

4:43 I'm going tell you Lash Legend is hot.

4:45 But you know what?

4:46 Like I wouldn't [music] change a thing.

4:48 I respect Sean's decision to do that because I feel like now

4:51 where I'm at, like I wouldn't have even imagined being this, you know,

4:56 fasttracked as people say.

4:58 Yeah, I was irritated.

5:00 Yeah, my patience was very thin, but I appreciate it all.

5:04 This woman, Lash Legend, is a human cheek con.

5:08 And now I look at it like how much of a rise she's getting right now.

5:11 It is the perfect time for Lash Legend to be [music] where she is.

5:15 I think Lash is an amazing wrestler

5:17 and she's starting to become one of my favorites.

5:19 Honestly, Lash Legend to me, very few times do you see women

5:24 come into the division and be that dominant in a moment.

5:27 When you look at her, you think like, wow, a year,

5:29 two years from now, she's going to be tearing through the roster.

5:33 A lot of the things that she did naturally was

5:34 a better fit for Raw and Smackdown than it was at NXT.

5:37 [music] She takes her time.

5:38 She lets everybody see what she does.

5:40 She's powerful, you know?

5:41 She's just a beast in the ring.

5:44 So the moment she went to the big stage,

5:46 you know, her light just shine automatically.

5:48 The road to Wrestlemania.

5:50 Congratulations, irresistible forces.

5:55 Lash has one of the opportunities to be one of the biggest names in wrestling.

5:58 It was such a perfect culmination of somebody

6:00 who never thought that she would get this opportunity.

6:04 There's a standard that we keep in this household where

6:06 she has to be the greatest at what she does.

6:08 That's the agreement that we set for each other.

6:16 [music]

6:16 just doing this journey with my now fiance,

6:18 Trick Williams, as y'all would like to call him.

6:21 [groaning and screaming]

6:23 I like it.

6:25 It's just been so amazing.

6:27 [music] He's always kept me just at peace.

6:29 And I feel like that matters so much in such a, you know,

6:33 chaotic, you know, business.

6:35 I see Andreel and myself as a complete representation [music] of where we from.

6:40 Me being from South Carolina, her being from Atlanta, Georgia,

6:43 a large part of the fan base

6:44 who understands Trick Williams understands Lash Legend.

6:48 [music] Lash is like my baby that I have without stretch marks.

6:51 I love Lash.

6:52 I couldn't ask for a better future daughter-in-law.

6:55 She's amazing and she really takes good care of Mattress.

6:57 They take good care of each other.

6:59 They be like, "Don't date your co-workers." Okay,

7:01 I've been told that and I always thought that, but [music] you know,

7:04 you just got to get that right one.

7:05 That right one will make you be like,

7:07 "Hold on, who is that over there?" And that's what he did for me.

7:10 Want to say thank you to everybody who

7:12 came out to support us at our first Wrestlemania.

7:16 [cheering] I'm really excited specifically for my nana to see me

7:20 in person at the biggest show of the entire year.

7:23 So, I just finished playing a tennis match and [music] I missed her call.

7:26 So, I called her right back and she said, "Nana,

7:28 I'm going to Wrestlemania." I'm like, "What?" WELCOME TO WRESTLEMANIA.

7:34 [screaming] Take a look at me now.

7:39 This is where stars are made stars

7:41 [music] and submit your name and legacy forever.

7:44 That's the biggest show of the year and like

7:45 that's what we work for all 300 days a year.

7:48 No sleep, always traveling, no family.

7:51 That's the culmination is Wrestlemania.

7:54 Any wrestler always dreams to be in Wrestlemania.

7:56 [music] We have the women's tag team championship

7:59 match that comes with elite talent across the board.

8:04 All trying to unseat the irresistible forces Nia Jax and Lash Legend Lash

8:10 Legend who everybody says is one of the breakout stars in the entire industry.

8:16 Moments like these, like I just literally want to be aware.

8:19 I just told her like please just enjoy the moments.

8:22 Don't let anything get into your way.

8:25 [music] be grateful and we're just gonna have a good time.

8:26 Lash wants to make a statement at WrestleMania because she wants

8:29 everybody to know that she believes that she is the greatest.

8:32 I'm gonna announce the heck out of that.

8:34 Get legend.

8:35 That's right.

8:36 That's right.

8:37 Makeup.

8:39 Uh Ariel, I'mma win.

8:44 All right.

8:44 And that's where all she has to do is show up and do what she always does.

8:47 Nothing more, nothing less.

8:48 She's worthy.

8:49 She already put in all the hard work.

8:51 She's already that girl.

8:54 Oh my god.

8:56 This year, Maya and I really wanted to do something special.

8:59 Hunter actually came to us himself and like talked to us about, you know,

9:03 a really special tribute to the newest um Hall of Fame inductee demolition.

9:09 Two brothers that just like kilted in the ring and like

9:11 it's an honor that N and I get to, you know,

9:14 give this tribute to them because that's what we represent.

9:16 Some big girls that's ready to dominate.

9:19 Damn, you look badass.

9:21 I mean, nothing ever beats like the moment you walk out

9:25 on a Wrestlemania stage and to see like how many people was 50,000 people

9:30 they are the WWE women's tag team champions

9:37 Nia Jax and Lash legend the irresistible forces.

9:45 Oh my god, it was just overwhelming.

9:47 I I was feeling that my parents, my grandparents would be so honored and so

9:51 proud to see her in such a large stage.

9:53 Now, I've always knew she was going to be somebody.

9:55 I said, "Your name is going to be in lights one day,

9:57 Ariel." And so, you got to be ready for it.

9:59 Lash Legend has been so impressive and incredible.

10:03 That boot to Charlotte.

10:07 [music] You guys killed it.

10:18 You guys killed it.

10:20 You guys, your entrance, you guys were insane.

10:23 It was just a beautiful moment.

10:24 My family got to come.

10:25 My wonderful fianceé was right there by my side,

10:27 which means the absolute world to me.

10:29 He's so supportive.

10:30 I'm ready to be in all the PL.

10:32 Get some more gold.

10:33 I got a taste of it now.

10:34 I'm like, oo, I want some more.

10:35 Once you get some, you want to keep getting some more.

10:37 So, I'm just ready to keep performing on the biggest stage.

10:40 seeing her out there, all those people like flashbacks of everything that she

10:45 been through and her just shining like, man, I'm hyped.

10:48 It's just being able to [music] have that little

10:50 girl inside who knew that she was destined for greatness,

10:53 destined to be on a camera, destined to show all this athleticism, charisma,

10:58 the whole overall picture is is what exactly where I [music] wanted to be,

11:02 just being an entertainer on TV.