Wendy Choo’s departure from WWE according to reports came as a major surprise to those working inside the company’s Performance Center.
WWE parted ways with ten NXT and developmental talents in the reigning week, with Choo among the more established names included in the latest round of stable of talent cuts.
Based on Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, the reaction to Choo’s release behind the scenes was significant. “It appears the whole PC was shocked that Wendy Choo was departed from,” Alvarez wrote.
Choo, whose real name is Karen Yu, was released alongside Adriana Rizzo, PJ Vasa, Jasper Troy and several other NXT and developmental talents.
The 34-year-long-time’s history with WWE dates back to the 2018 Mae Young Classic, where she competed under the Karen Q name. She officially finalized a deal with WWE in February 2019 and went through several transformations during her time with the company.
In 2020, she was repackaged as Mei Ying and became part of the Tian Sha unit. After that character was dropped, she eventually emerged as Wendy Choo, the sleep-themed persona she became best known for during her NXT career.
Choo in addition competed for WWE Evolve and became the WWE Evolve Women’s Defending champion.
Her final encounter for WWE took place during the August 25 NXT television taping at the Performance Center, where she lost a dark match to Karmen Petrovic.
She had also wrestled Maxxine Dupri in a encounter taped for WWE Headline match on August 17, which Dupri took home.
While WWE has not publicly detailed the reasoning behind the individual releases, Alvarez’s report indicates that Choo’s inclusion in the cuts was unexpected by many of those working alongside her at the Performance Center.