There have many missed opportunities when it comes to wrestlers in WWE over the last few years, particularly when it comes to NXT call-ups. The current Athena and former “Ember Moon” is a clear example of this, with her WWE run being one of misuse, poor booking, a lack of faith, and wasted potential. When looking back over her WWE career, there are clear moments in which things went wrong, and how easily fixed they could have been for her. With her being the subject of a WWE release late last year, it provides an opportunity to look at her time in WWE with a clear start and finish.
Ember Moon Should Have Ended Asuka’s Undefeated Streak In NXT
After becoming a popular name on the independent scene, Moon joined WWE all the way back in 2015, and though it would take several months to make her debut, there was support and anticipation from the NXT faithful, who welcomed her with open arms as she defeated Billie Kay at Takeover: Brooklyn 2. She went on a winning streak, until finding herself facing another undefeated name in Asuka for the NXT Women’s Championship, and she would come up short. After being inadvertently injured by Asuka, she was ruled out, but upon her return, earned another title match.
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Moon felt like the natural successor to Asuka at this point, but the champion was forced to cheat in order to keep hold of the belt, which really presented Moon as a threat. After Asuka’s main roster call-up, Moon would win the vacant belt, but it did feel like a missed opportunity to not have her end Asuka’s streak, especially when seeing how much of a non-factor it ultimately turned out to be on the main roster. Eventually, Moon would drop the title to Baszler after an enjoyable run, and as was common for NXT at the time, made her way to the main roster with a lot of momentum.
Ember Moon’s Time On WWE’s Main Roster Was Forgettable
On the Raw after WrestleMania, she made a big debut, but from there, not too much happened, although she did gradually build up some wins. For a while, she didn’t have any form of a storyline, which showed that the main roster creative team didn’t have a proper plan in mind. By the time the year closed, she was just another bland name on the roster, and would even be off TV from the Royal Rumble until WrestleMania in 2019. Even after being drafted to Smackdown, she didn’t do anything of note for a while, until being placed in a Smackdown Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam 2019, without really earning the shot.
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Regardless, it was finally an opportunity for her to shine. Unfortunately, the match wasn’t anything special and it was far from the best SummerSlam had to offer, and this may have put an end to her main roster run. With NXT moving to TV at the end of the year, there was a desire from WWE to send a few main roster names back to developmental, with Moon being one of them, making her debut after several vignettes, with a new look and gimmick, which is something she desperately needed. She was featured more, but she should really have been a bigger deal, competing within the main title picture. Instead, her second NXT stint was also lackluster.
Shotzi Blackheart Was Called Up To WWE’s Main Roster Without Ember Moon
Moon would form a tag team with Shotzi Blackheart, which was fun, but Moon didn’t feel like a significant performer, and she wasn’t the focus of the team. She and Shotzi would win the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles, and they had a few successful defenses, before dropping the belts to The Way. Their chemistry was growing, and they felt as though they had the potential to be a good addition to the lacking main roster tag team division. However, Shotzi was called up with Tegan Nox, with Moon left behind in NXT. It wasn’t long until NXT was rebranded into “NXT 2.0”, and it was clear that Moon didn’t have a place in the new direction of the show, with her going missing from TV for a while, before eventually getting released.
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From losing to Asuka to not having a storyline on the main roster to a poor NXT return, to getting snubbed for a call-up, WWE made countless mistakes with Moon, forcing her to have a lack of momentum at times, which wasn’t her fault in the slightest. She had a unique look and great in-ring prowess, and whilst her mic work wasn’t the best at times, there are easy ways around that, with either a mouthpiece or cutting minimal yet effective promos. With Moon once again becoming Athena, she is proving what WWE missed out on. Her time with the company was undoubtedly a mess.
