Wendy Choo

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Wendy Choo
Karen Q in April 2018 (cropped).jpg
Choo in 2018
Birth nameKaren Yu [1]
Born (1992-01-18) January 18, 1992 (age 32) [1]
New York City, New York, U.S. [1] [2]
Alma mater Queens College (BSc) [3]
Lehman College (MA) [3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Karen Q [4]
Karen Yu [4]
Mei Ying [4]
Wendy Choo [5]
Billed height5 ft 2 in (157 cm) [5] [6]
Billed from Chinatown, N.Y." (as Karen Q) [6]
Trained by Damian Adams [2] [4]
Johnny Rodz [2] [4]
Sara Del Rey [2]
WWE Performance Center [2] [4]
DebutSeptember 6, 2014 [3] [4]

Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with Ring of Honor (ROH) and on the independent circuit as Karen Q and for her appearances with WWE as Mei Ying.

Contents

Early life

Yu was born on January 18, 1992 in New York City, New York. She grew up in the Bayside, Queens neighborhood of New York City, attending Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. [3] Yu participated in gymnastics from the age of five. [7] Yu received an NCAA Division II scholarship for volleyball, earning a bachelor's degree in physical education from Queens College and a master's degree in teaching from Lehman College. [3] [6] [8] While attending Queens College, she played volleyball for the Queens Knights. [9] Before becoming a full-time professional wrestler, Yu taught physical education at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and coached gymnastics at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. [7]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit; Ring of Honor (2014–2019)

Yu was first trained to wrestle by Johnny Rodz at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, then by Damian Adams at the Team Adams Pro Wrestling Academy in Wharton, New Jersey. [2] [3] [10] She debuted in 2014 under her birth name, appearing with the Centereach, New York-based Victory Pro Wrestling (VPW) promotion. [11] Over the following years, she competed on the independent circuit, primarily in the Northeastern United States. [12] [13] In 2016, she adopted the ring name "Karen Q". [13] She won her first title in April 2016, defeating Nikki Addams for the VPW Women's Championship. [13] In 2017, she won the East Coast Wrestling Association Women's Championship. [14] She took part in the ECWA Super 8 ChickFight Tournament in 2016 and 2017, losing to Deonna Purrazzo in the finals in 2016 and winning the tournament in 2017. [15] [16]

In April 2017, Yu began appearing with Ring of Honor (ROH). At Survival of the Fittest in November 2017, she lost to Deonna Purrazzo in a no disqualification match. At Final Battle in December 2018, Yu took part in a four way match for the ROH Women of Honor World Championship that was won by Kelly Klein, marking her first pay-per-view appearance. [3] [17]

WWE (2018, 2019–present)

Yu made her first appearance with WWE in August 2018, competing in the Mae Young Classic tournament under the ring name Karen Q. [18] In February 2019, she signed a contract with WWE [19] [20] and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for further training. [2] From February to July 2019, she wrestled for WWE as Karen Q, primarily teaming with Xia Li on NXT house shows. [18] In July 2019, Yu suffered a fractured lateral malleolus; she spent the next two years rehabilitating, undergoing two surgeries. [19] [21] [22] In December 2020, Yu was reintroduced on NXT as "Mei Ying", the leader of the stable Tian Sha alongside Xia Li and Boa. [20] She returned to the ring in August 2021. [18] In November 2021, the Mei Ying character was dropped [23] and Yu was again repackaged, this time as "Wendy Choo". [20] In March 2022, Choo and Dakota Kai competed in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, losing to Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray in the finals. [18] In June 2022 at NXT In Your House, Choo unsuccessfully challenged Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Championship. [24] Choo went on to feud with Tiffany Stratton, defeating her in a lights out match in August 2022. [18] In February 2023, Choo suffered an unspecified injury; she was written off television to allow her to recuperate via an angle that saw her attacked in a parking lot. [25]

Choo returned to the ring at a house show in May 2024; [18] the following month, she returned to WWE television under a new, more aggressive persona. [26] In July, Choo formed a short-lived alliance with Tatum Paxley, which ended the following month when Choo turned on Paxley at NXT: The Great American Bash after Paxley failed to defeat NXT Women's North American Champion Kelani Jordan for the title. [27] [28] In September, Choo formed an alliance with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) wrestler Rosemary, attacking TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace during her open challenge. [29] This led to Choo getting a title match at Victory Road but she failed to win. [30] At Bound For Glory, Choo and Rosemary failed to defeat TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champions Spitfire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat) for the titles. After the match, Rosemary turned on Choo, ending their alliance. [31] On the October 29 episode of NXT, Choo lost to Paxley in the first ever women's casket match in WWE to end their feud. [32]

Professional wrestling style and persona

Choo wrestles in a "technical" style [4] with a mix of "technical wizardry and breathtaking aerial assaults". [6] Her finishing moves have included a modified Boston crab (dubbed the Spring Roll), a fujiwara armbar, [6] [10] and a rear naked choke. [26] She utilizes "an array of stunning suplexes". [5]

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" for the Tian Sha stable. [33] [34] In 2022, she adopted the gimmick of Wendy Choo, a constantly tired wrestler who performs in a onesie. [5] In 2024, she adopted a more "nightmarish" version of this gimmick. [5] [26]

Other media

Yu made her video game debut as a playable character in the Race to NXT Pack DLC for WWE 2K23 [35] and subsequently appeared in WWE 2K24 . [36]

Personal life

Yu is a Chinese American. [3] [6]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Varsallone, Jim (December 10, 2018). "Banner year for Karen Q will close in style at Ring of Honor Final Battle in NYC". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
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  22. ↑ WWE.com staff (July 29, 2019). "Karen Q suffers leg injury at NXT live event". WWE.com. WWE. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  23. ↑ Thomas, Jeremy (November 18, 2021). "WWE News: NXT reportedly drops Mei Ying character, new signing, refs get new names". 411Mania.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
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  29. ↑ Moore, John (September 10, 2024). "NXT TV results (9/10)". ProWrestling.net. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  30. ↑ Total Nonstop Action Wrestling staff (September 13, 2024). "TNA Victory Road 2024 results". TNAWrestling.com . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
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