Wendy Choo | |
---|---|
Birth name | Karen Yu [1] |
Born | [1] New York City, New York, U.S. [1] [2] | January 18, 1992
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 height | 5 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] |
Debut | September 6, 2014 [3] [4] |
Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently 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.
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]
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]
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 2024, Choo formed a short-lived alliance with Tatum Paxley, which ended the following month when Choo turned on Paxley during 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 2024, 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 the TNA pay-per-view Victory Road, but she failed to win. [30]
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. [31] [32] 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]
Yu made her video game debut as a playable character in the Race to NXT Pack DLC for WWE 2K23 [33] and subsequently appeared in WWE 2K24 . [34]
Yu is a Chinese American. [3] [6]
Shayna Andrea Baszler is an American professional wrestler and a former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand as a member of the Pure Fusion Collective stable. Baszler is a former two-time and longest combined-reigning NXT Women's Champion and a former record-tying three-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion.
Jazmin Benitez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a former ROH Women's World Champion. She is also known for her time in WWE, primarily on the NXT brand.
Stephon Strickland is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and was a member of Hit Row.
Deonna Lynn Purrazzo is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since January 2024. She is best known for her tenures with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2020 to 2023, where she is a former three-time TNA Knockouts World Champion and a former TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. She also appeared in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) from 2021 to 2023 and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2015 to 2018, where she is a former AAA Reina de Reinas Champion and ROH Women's World Champion, respectively, making her a five-time professional wrestling women's world champion.
Damian Mackle is an Irish professional wrestler. He is known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Killian Dain. Since his departure from WWE, he has reverted back to his ring name on the independent circuit, Big Damo.
Peter Thomas England is an English professional wrestler and producer. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on both the Raw and NXT brands under the ring name Pete Dunne and is one-half of the New Catch Republic with Tyler Bate. He is a 1-time WWE United Kingdom Champion and 1-time NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Matt Riddle, with whom he also won the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Marcel Barthel is a German professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Ludwig Kaiser. He is a member of Imperium.
Priscilla Lee Kelly is an American professional wrestler and former reality television personality. Kelly is signed to WWE where she performs under the ring name Gigi Dolin on the NXT brand. She is a former record-tying two-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Carlos Ruíz is a Spanish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Axiom and is one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions with Nathan Frazer in their second reign.
Aoife Cusack is an Irish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. She is a former one-time NXT Women's Champion.
Joseph Ruby is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, on the Raw brand.where he performs under the ring name Joe Gacy and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction.
Joshua Bruns is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Josh Briggs. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. In WWE, he is a one-time and the final NXT UK Tag Team Champion. He previously appeared for Evolve, where he was the final Evolve Champion.
Samantha De Martin is an Australian professional wrestler. As of November 2019, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Indi Hartwell. She is a former one-time NXT Women's Champion and a former one-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion with Candice LeRae. She was a member of The Way stable.
Nicholas Comoroto is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Comoroto began his career in 2013 on the independent circuit. In 2019, he signed a development contract with WWE, but was released the next year as part of a series of budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, joining AEW later that year.
Bronson Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bron Breakker and is the WWE Intercontinental Champion in his first reign. He previously performed on the NXT brand, where he was a two-time NXT Champion and one-time NXT Tag Team Champion. A second-generation professional wrestler, Rechsteiner is the son of Rick Steiner and the nephew of Scott Steiner. Rechsteiner was voted "Rookie of the Year" for 2022 by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Omari Jahi Palmer is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Odyssey Jones from 2019 to 2024.
The Creed Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Brutus Creed and Julius Creed. As of November 2023 they are signed to the professional wrestling promotion WWE, where they perform on the Raw brand and are members of the stable American Made and its sub-group Diamond Mine. They are former one-time NXT Tag Team Champions.
Taylor Grado is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Jacy Jayne and is a member of The Fatal Influence stable. She is a former record-tying two-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Stephanie De Landre is an Australian professional wrestler, best known on the independent circuit by her ring name Steph De Lander. She is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) She is currently out of action due to a neck injury.
Oliver Sauter is a Swiss professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Oro Mensah as a member of The Meta-Four stable. He is also known for his time in NXT UK under the ring name Oliver Carter, where he became a one-time NXT UK Tag Team Champion alongside Ashton Smith.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)