WWE: Ember Moon’s Character Could Have Been So Much More
By John Brown
Ember Moon’s debut gave us a dark horse in a colorful WWE women’s revolution, one that could have played the part of its plague. Instead of a truly ruthless heel befitting of her bewitching appearance, we have been given another wrestler who is just “living the dream”.
Ember Moon debuted at WWE NXT TakeOver on August 20, 2016. After a series of vignettes portraying Moon as an enigmatic sorcerous bringing with her a “prophecy of fire”, she vanquished Billie Kay with her finishing maneuver as lethal as she appeared to be.
At the time of her ascension, Moon served as a foil to Asuka. Asuka, too, brought with her a deadly arsenal, but chose to bask in the light while Moon preferred to brood in the dark. She brought with her an ominous presence, a deadly, bloodthirsty, Cheshire cat grin that could have represented a portal into another human being’s inevitable doom. Her eyes unleashed daggers into the spirt of the upcoming opponent, daggers into the jugular of an hope they possessed before daring to step foot in Moon’s ring.
Then, she revealed herself to be a wrestling fan with a dream just like any of us. She became added to a “new era” that is really the WWE’s version of The Sims, where they feel the need to show us how members of the WWE roster are really just like you and me off camera .
My television will see its last WWE product if it projects The Undertaker showing us his skill at poaching eggs.
It is a common belief in professional wrestling that a performer needs to find something fans that use to distinguish him/her from the rest of the roster. This is especially true in a growing women’s division, a division that spent years on the WWE’s backburner (with the exception of some EXCELLENT matches involving Trish Stratus, Lita, Victoria, and Mickie James) due to its being acceptable for its members to have little to distinguish from each other as long as they were camera-ready for a bikini photo shoot. There was undeniable talent within the division’s ranks, but the WWE didn’t seem to be interested in giving it the proper spotlight.
The female talent pool is, by light years, has reached its peak in regards to talent. However, there is no woman in the division who can play foil to the spotlight of Charlotte or to the glow of Naomi. In her original incarnation, Moon could have been that foil. But alas, for some reason, we all had to hear the story of how she earned her life’s dream, just like everyone else.
Moon should bring a permanent gray cloud to those dreams. By telling us about her dream rather that provide a dark backstory worthy of suspending our disbelief, they have played Moon’s hand. In the current state of the WWE Women’s Division, when she inevitable gets that call to the main roster, Moon will thrive because she is talented enough to perform with anyone.
The disappointment that will come with her debut and journey is the loss of what might have been. We could have been given a character that brought a darkness that not only disrupts the rhythm of the “Women’s Revolution”, but one that plagues it, setting a hero up to provide the remedy.
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Now, WWE has left us with an Ember Moon that is cool, whose matches are fun, who could have held the Women’s Division in spellbinding rapture…
…who will have great matches just like the rest of the division. So we have that going for us. How nice.