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
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, where she performs on the
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
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 projecting ...
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 so ...
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 Meadows ...
neighborhood of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, attending
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School is a public high school in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The school was named for Benjamin N. Cardozo, who served as justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and chief judge of the New York Court of ...
. 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, shou ...
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 ...
in
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 explorati ...
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. Lehma ...
. 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 (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Ce ...
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
Gleason's is a boxing gym located on the Brooklyn waterfront. The gym was founded by Peter Gagliardi, a former bantamweight, who changed his name to Bobby Gleason. It moved to Manhattan and then to Brooklyn. Gleason's is now owned by Bruce Silverg ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, 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
Centereach () is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 31,578 at the 2010 census.
History
The hamlet of Centereach was first called West Middle Island, but primarily became known as ...
-based Victory Pro Wrestling (VPW) promotion. Over the following years, she competed 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 ...
, primarily in the
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
. 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
East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner. It is home to the annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament, Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tourn ...
Women's Championship
The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2).
WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...
. She took part in the
ECWA Super 8 ChickFight Tournament The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The tournament is contested by eight female wrestlers in a one-night single-elimination format. The tournament was originally call ...
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 appea ...
in the finals in 2016 and winning the tournament in 2017.
In April 2017, Yu began appearing 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 so ...
. At
Survival of the Fittest
"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...
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
Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002, and is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ROH's first internet p ...
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
The Women of Honor World Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).
History
At Final Battle, December 15, 2017, it was announced that ...
that was won by
Kelly Klein
Kelly Klein (born January 28, 1986), is an American professional wrestler who is currently a free agent. She is best known for her time in Ring of Honor, where she was a record three-time Women of Honor World Champion.
Professional wrestling ...
, 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 guid ...
appearance.
Yu made her first appearance with WWE in August 2018, competing in the
Mae Young Classic
The Mae Young Classic was a women's professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a WWE Hall of Famer who is conside ...
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 wre ...
in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
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 wrestling, professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Xia Li ...
on
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
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 du ...
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 promine ...
; she spent the next two years rehabilitating, undergoing two surgeries. In December 2020, Yu was reintroduced on ''
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
'' as "Mei Ying", the leader of the
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
"Tian Sha" alongside Xia Li and
Boa
Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...
. 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
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cur ...
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 and ...
, 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 with ...
and
Kay Lee Ray
Kayleigh Rae (born 11 August 1992), better known as Kay Lee Ray, is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Alba Fyre.
Rae began her wrestling career in 2009 and c ...
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 or ...
, 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 began ...
for the
NXT Women's Championship
The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, th ...
.
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 opp ...
(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 feature ...
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
Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
*
East Coast Wrestling Association
East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded by promoter Jim Kettner. It is home to the annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament, Super 8 Tournament, one of the longest-running independent wrestling tourn ...
**
ECWA Women's Championship
The East Coast Wrestling Association Women's Championship (stylized as ECWA Women's Championship) was a women's professional wrestling championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team i ...
(1 time)
*Victory Pro Wrestling
**VPW Women's Championship (1 time)