Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. She is currently signed to the

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

and on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

as Karen Q and for her appearances with WWE as Mei Ying.

Early life

Yu grew up in the

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Mead ...

neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, attending Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. Yu participated in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

from the age of five. She received an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

scholarship for volleyball, earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explora ...

from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in teaching from

Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in the Bronx borough of New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman ...

. Before becoming a full-time professional wrestler, she taught physical education at

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square n ...

and coached gymnastics at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School.

Professional wrestling career

Yu was first trained to wrestle by

Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...

at Gleason's Gym in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, then by Damian Adams at the Team Adams Pro Wrestling Academy in

Wharton, New Jersey Wharton is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 6,522, She debuted in 2014 under her birth name, appearing with the Centereach, New York-based Victory Pro Wrestling (VPW) promotion. Over the following years, she competed on the

, primarily in the Northeastern United States. In 2016, she adopted the ring name "Karen Q". She won her first title in April 2016, defeating Nikki Addams for the VPW Women's Championship. In 2017, she won the East Coast Wrestling Association Women's Championship. She took part in the ECWA Super 8 ChickFight Tournament in 2016 and 2017, losing to

Deonna Purrazzo Deonna Purrazzo (born June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she is a former two-time Impact Knockouts World Champion and a former Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. She also appe ...

in the finals in 2016 and winning the tournament in 2017. In April 2017, Yu began appearing with

. At Survival of the Fittest in November 2017, she lost to Deonna Purrazzo in a

no disqualification match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. At Final Battle in December 2018, Yu took part in a

four way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the Women of Honor World Championship that was won by Kelly Klein, marking her first

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

appearance. Yu made her first appearance with WWE in August 2018, competing in the Mae Young Classic tournament under the ring name "Karen Q". In February 2019, she signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...

in Orlando, Florida for further training. From February to July 2019, she wrestled for WWE as "Karen Q", primarily teaming with

Xia Li Zhao Xia (; born July 28, 1988) is a Chinese-American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Xia Li (). Professional wrestling career WWE Mae Young Classic (2017 ...

on NXT

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive d ...

s. In July 2019, Yu suffered a fractured

lateral malleolus A malleolus is the bony prominence on each side of the human ankle. Each leg is supported by two bones, the tibia on the inner side (medial) of the leg and the fibula on the outer side (lateral) of the leg. The medial malleolus is the promi ...

; she spent the next two years rehabilitating, undergoing two surgeries. In December 2020, Yu was reintroduced on '' NXT'' as "Mei Ying", the leader of the stable "Tian Sha" alongside Xia Li and Boa. She returned to the ring in August 2021. In November 2021, the Mei Ying character was dropped and Yu was again repackaged, this time as "Wendy Choo". In March 2022, Choo and Dakota Kai competed in the

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand, having first been established in 2015. In subsequent years, wrestlers from the NXT UK ...

, losing to

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions w ...

and Kay Lee Ray in the finals. In June 2022 at

In Your House In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events o ...

, Choo unsuccessfully challenged

Mandy Rose Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose. Rose bega ...

for the NXT Women's Championship.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Choo wrestles in a "technical" style with a mix of "technical wizardry and breathtaking aerial assaults". Her finishing moves have included a modified

Boston crab The Boston crab is a professional wrestling hold that typically starts with one wrestler lying in a supine position on the mat, with the other wrestler standing and facing them. It is a type of spinal lock where the wrestler hooks each of the o ...

(dubbed the ''Spring Roll'') and a

fujiwara armbar Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

. She utilizes "an array of stunning

suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...

es". In 2020 and 2021, Yu portrayed the "enigmatic and destructive" character of "Mei Ying", a 1,000 year old woman who acted as a "

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...

" for the Tian Sha stable. In 2022, she adopted the

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

of "Wendy Choo", a constantly tired wrestler who performs in a onesie.

Personal life

Yu is a Chinese American.

Championships and accomplishments

* East Coast Wrestling Association ** ECWA Women's Championship (1 time) *Victory Pro Wrestling **VPW Women's Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choo, Wendy 1992 births 21st-century professional wrestlers American female professional wrestlers American people of Chinese descent American gymnastics coaches American gymnasts Lehman College alumni Living people People from Bayside, Queens Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Professional wrestlers from New York City Queens College, City University of New York alumni Schoolteachers from New York (state)