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 o ...

. 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 vari ...

, 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 Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with Ring of Honor and on the independent circuit 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 Meado ...

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 Un ...

, attending

Benjamin N. Cardozo High School Benjamin N. Cardozo High School is a state school, public secondary education in the United States, high school in the Bayside, Queens, Bayside neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The school was named for Benjamin N. Cardozo, who served as List ...

. 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 explorat ...

from Queens College 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. Before becoming a full-time professional wrestler, she taught physical education at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School 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 ...

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 Silve ...

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 a ...

-based Victory Pro Wrestling (VPW) promotion. Over the following years, she competed on the independent circuit, 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 East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to ...

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 appe ...

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

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 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 consi ...

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 on

house shows. 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 ''

'' as "Mei Ying", the leader of the stable "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 cu ...

competed in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, 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 ...

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 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 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, t ...

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 ...

(dubbed the ''Spring Roll'') and a fujiwara armbar. 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 it ...

" for the Tian Sha stable. In 2022, she adopted the gimmick of "Wendy Choo", a constantly tired wrestler who performs in a onesie.

Personal life

Yu is a Chinese American.

Championships and accomplishments

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)

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)