Wendy Choo’s WWE release reportedly came as a surprise throughout the Performance Center, as the company made its latest round of NXT roster cuts on Friday.

According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, who shared the update with subscribers on X, Choo’s departure caught the entire Performance Center off guard. She was released alongside several other talents, including PK Vasa, Adriana Rizzo, Zena Sterling, Jasper Troy and Anya Rune.

Choo, whose real name is Karen Yu, had been with WWE since February 2019. During her time with the company, she portrayed Mei Ying as part of the Tian Sha faction before taking on the Wendy Choo character. Her WWE run also included a reign as EVOLVE Women’s Champion.

In recent months, Choo had regularly worked dark matches at NXT tapings. Her final match for the company took place before the August 25 taping, when she lost to Karmen Petrovic.

She had also appeared on Main Event against Raw’s Maxxine Dupri last month. In July, she challenged Xia Brookside for the TNA Knockouts World Championship.

Her departure brings more than seven years with WWE to a close, with the reported backstage reaction suggesting it was an exit few at the Performance Center saw coming.