Although Ember Moon failed to defeat the Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss on last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw, she had Bliss dead-to-rights before Alicia Fox’s interference. More importantly, Moon once again showed that she can bring out the best in her opponents, regardless of their backgrounds or perceived strengths.
Since joining WWE Raw, Ember Moon has just one loss to her name, which was a fluke defeat at the hands of Riott Squad member Sarah Logan. The finish to that match was shocking, to say the least, because nobody thought that Ember would be pinned merely after being kicked off the top rope by the resourceful Logan.
That defeat brought renewed energy from Moon, who beat Liv Morgan on the following episode of Raw. Moon’s intensity has been well-documented since her days in NXT, and only Asuka could consistently defeat the “Shenom”. But even for Asuka, pinning or submitting Moon was quite a tall task.
Last night on Raw, Moon had the opportunity to pin the Raw Women’s Champion, Alexa Bliss, in front of an impassioned crowd in Greensboro, North Carolina. Despite having Ronda Rousey in her corner, the gamesmanship of Alexa Bliss and Alicia Fox proved to be too much to overcome.
Moon had the match won, hitting Bliss with an “Eclipse”, but Fox broke up the pin at the very last second before causing a disqualification.
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Still, the fact that Moon essentially had the champion pinned in the center of the ring, just days before Bliss’s big title defense at SummerSlam against Rousey, is significant. The match may have been an impromptu bout due to the death of Natalya’s father Jim Neidhart, but Moon made a profound statement by nearly pinning the champion.
The match itself was a solid bout, and many fans on social media, including Bliss’s detractors, remarked at how often Bliss sold for Moon. It was another example of Moon bringing out the best in her competition, with the Eclipse being one of the highlights of the match.
For months, Moon has done nothing but impress on the main roster, and the way WWE books her in the ring is noteworthy.
They know they have a superb athlete and future star on their hands in Moon, and while they understand she needs polish before becoming a Raw Women’s Champion, she is worth protecting. Matches like the one against Bliss are examples of what she can do against the most popular wrestlers in the company, as Moon is already one of WWE’s most prolific talents in the ring.
Moon’s selling, acrobatic moves, and pure power force her opponents to keep up with her, and it’s hard not to praise Bliss for her work against the “Shenom”. These two could produce more positive matches against each other in the future.
Her theme song states, “Ember sparks a fire,” and that’s exactly what she does for anyone she faces in that ring. I’m not sure if WWE will use the fact that she nearly pinned Bliss as a way of building to a future title opportunity, but I am sure that they once again came away impressed with Moon.