Ember Moon defends the NXT Women's Title against Sonya Deville, then gets a reminder that the pool of potential contenders is far from shallow. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

This much is clear following Ember Moon’s first defense of the NXT Women’s Title: As arduous as it was for Moon to accomplish her long-held goal of capturing the championship, holding on to the title will be no easier.

NXT’s War Goddess emerged victorious from her rugged scrap with Sonya Deville, but the new Raw Superstar — who held the size, strength, submission and striking advantage over Moon — pushed the new champion to her limit. Despite Deville’s diverse attack, Moon had an ace in her back pocket the whole time in the form of the devastating Eclipse. After firing off a rapid succession of moves, Moon soared off the top turnbuckle with her favorite finisher to send Deville packing.

Even with one contender down, it was soon apparent that Moon’s journey going forward will contain no shortage of dangerous challengers. Kairi Sane appeared on the stage and gestured that she has the NXT Women’s Title in her sights, but The Pirate Princess was suddenly ambushed from behind by the Superstar she beat to win the inaugural Mae Young Classic, Shayna Baszler. The Queen of Spades, whose game-changing arrival to NXT had been anticipated for weeks, used a sleeper hold to render Sane unconscious and then shot a menacing stare at Moon on her way out, leaving NXT’s War Goddess with plenty to consider heading into the New Year.

WWE NXT photos: Dec. 27, 2017, featuring action-packed images of Ember Moon vs. Sonya Deville for the NXT Women's Title, Shayna Baszler's arrival, Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain vs. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano in a No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match and more.