In January 2017, Li joined the WWE Performance Center after she had impressed talent scouts at a tryout in Shanghai, China. On July 13, she made her debut for WWE competing in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, making her the first Chinese woman to ever compete in a WWE ring. She was eliminated in the first round by Mercedes Martinez. On September 19, 2018, Li competed in her second Mae Young Classic, defeating Karen Q in the first round, but was eliminated in the second round by Deonna Purrazzo. Throughout 2017 and 2018, Li only wrestled at NXT live events outside of the Mae Young Classic.
On January 27, 2019, at the Royal Rumble, Li made her first appearance on a main roster pay-per-view by entering the women's Royal Rumble match at number 11, lasting 4:48 before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair. She made her television debut on the February 20 episode of NXT, losing in a singles match to Mia Yim. On the May 1 episode of NXT, she picked up her first televised win by defeating Rachel Evers. In mid-November, Li got into a feud with Aliyah and Vanessa Borne, getting singles victories over the duo on the November 13 and 27 episodes of NXT respectively, the latter of which saw her get attacked by NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke afterwards. It led to a non-title match the following week, with Li losing to Baszler by submission.
Li would compete in the women's Royal Rumble match again at the namesake event on January 26, 2020, entering at number 24 and lasting 10:49, before being eliminated by Shayna Baszler. Li fought with Mia Yim again on the February 26 episode of NXT, this time winning the match with a roll-up after a distraction from Dakota Kai and Raquel González. On the March 25 episode of NXT, Li was set to face Aliyah in a qualifier to compete in a Ladder match to determine the number one contender for the NXT Women's Championship, but was injured by her backstage before the match started. This led to a brief match between the two on the April 15 episode of NXT, with Li getting revenge by defeating Aliyah. On the May 6 episode of NXT, Li had a match with Chelsea Green, which she lost due to a distraction from Aliyah. This led to another match between the two on the June 17 episode of NXT, with Aliyah getting the victory after Robert Stone distracted Li by vomiting in the ring.

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