The Gift of Tam

[Utami]

The view isn’t that of the dramatic Chicago skyline, nor of any of the landmarks within the Windy City. Nor do we find ourselves somewhere within the historic United Center where another all-time great secured his legacy over a decade. Instead it’s the clinical beige, white and eggshell tones of a physician’s office - from the angle seemingly the exam table. While there’s no sign of a nurse or doctor, there are a few things which suggest something’s not on the level.

A baseball bat leaned up against the cabinet, its end wrapped in barbed wire. On the counter sits a plush panda with a slit mouth and purple bow around its neck. Panning to the door we find a pair of pristine white angel wings draped over a coat hanger. Atop that? A golden crown seen last upon the head of the EBWF Women’s Champion. Just then the door handle jiggles a little, the door opens inward to reveal a nurse who looks very much like Tam herself.

Nurse: “The doctor will see you now.”

There’s suddenly a guitar riff reminiscent of ‘The Epic’, the nurse smiles and then a light flashes. Suddenly old footage plays - Tam locked in heated competition with Britt Baker at Fanniversary 2022, ending with Tam planting Britt with the Twilight Dream to reclaim her own dream. Then the 2024 Queen of the Ring Final, where Tam once again fights Britt tooth and nail finally covers as the crowd counts.

ONE. TWO. THREE.

Tam stands tall, Queen of the Ring crown on her head and glaring daggers down at Britt. Suddenly we’re back in the doctor’s office, finally joined by a woman in scrubs and a medical mask. Only the flash of gold under her top hints at her identity.

Tam Nakano: “Sorry to keep you waiting. We’ve.. Well, I’ve been SO busy ever since I was called on to save this place from falling into the muck that I only just got to you. Lots of problems that need the tenderly lethal care of EBWF’s very best and brightest.”

She pulls the mask down and reveals her face is as perfectly made up as ever, even down to the glitter.

Tam Nakano: “Not that waiting is something that’s unusual for you, is it Britt? I mean, what have you been up to since the first time I saw you in my office, hm? You had two long years to come up to Tam and demand what’s supposedly yours, opportunity after opportunity to issue the formal challenge to me. Not that it would’ve made a difference, of course. But like they say this time of year, it’s the thought that counts! You could’ve come for the Final Boss any time, but instead you just let all that anger, that violent drive that made you champion, fade into complacent mediocrity.”

“Doctor” Tam shrugs in resignation and lifts her top up to reveal the EBWF Women’s Championship.

Tam Nakano: “The last time I was champion, I held this beautiful championship for three hundred and sixty-five days. One full year in which the esteemed, elite Britt Baker could have gotten her rematch. We could’ve finished this business a year ago and sent you packing then, but instead you just vanished like Becky Lynch when she’s offered a starring role in some direct to streaming travesty of a ‘film’. You abandoned EBWF for a while, didn’t you? Maybe you realized that when the Final Boss is around, you’re better suited to fill cavities than pretend to be an elite talent.”

She offers a fake smile for her challenger.

Tam Nakano: “Now I could make some smartass comment about how you were handed everything you ever achieved in Uncle Tony’s playland and were never really elite. But I’m a big enough girl to admit that that’s not true. No! For a while you were exactly who you said you were. An unbreakable, unshakable champion capable of unspeakable violence and ruthless efficiency when the gold was on the line. You faced the best in the world and would curbstomp them face first into broken glass if that’s what it took. Hell, you’d even laugh in their face about it.”

Tam looks like she’s about to laugh at that mental image as well.

Tam Nakano: “I saw it when I was watching week in, week out to prepare for my return to EBWF. Then, suddenly, after two years of you just accepting that you could never live up to my accomplisments, it was there again. Queen of the Ring rolled around and suddenly Britt Baker went the distance, cutting out all the stops and showing flashes of that cruel brilliance. There were hints of the Britt Baker that came before. But you know what, Britt?”

She tsks and waggles a finger.

Tam Nakano: “Hints don’t win championships. They sure as hell don’t beat me.”

Tam leans back in her chair and smiles cheerfully.

Tam Nakano: “But there is good news! I finally have a diagnosis for what’s caused you to drag yourself down so much.”

She cups her chin cutely.

Tam Nakano: “You, Britt Baker, have been suffering from overhype and underdelivering in the ring. And I’m afraid that it’s terminal.”

Tam pouts a little just to drive home her annoying cutesiness.

Tam Nakano: “That’s why, no matter what you do and no matter how hard you fight, this will not be your night for redemption. I’m sure you’ve been running through both of our matches in your head endlessly, looking for weaknesses in my offense, for openings in my defense, for any sign that you’re not sick with second place-itis. All you’ll find is that while you’ve had to dig deep just to drag yourself up to some semblance of the woman who was champion, Tam has constantly evolved with every match and every win. Every last dumbass who stepped up to me and thought for sure she’d be the one to bring an end to my dominance has just become fuel for the fire that drives me. I fear no one. I lose to no one. I work tirelessly to drag this sad excuse for a women’s division up to a respectable level, by any means necessary.”

Tam removes her scrub top, revealing her purple and black ring gear.

Tam Nakano: “Take a good, hard look at me when I’m speaking this truth to you, doc. See the woman who for two years has destroyed every single so-called superstar who’s dared to cross paths with me. Two years, only one singles loss - which was a fluke, by the way. Do you honestly believe that you can be the second - and the first to do so without backup?”

She stands up and steps out of the pants from the scrubs, then sits down in her full ring gear, the EBWF Women’s Championship around her waist.

Tam Nakano: “I won’t waste my breath telling you that ship sailed a long time ago because I know you’re too blind to see the truth. So please, try to prove me wrong. Dig deep, fight like hell and push me to the limit of my ability. You’re going to need that dominant bitch you once were to stand a chance, and not just a hint of her. Can you do it? I sure hope you can, because I want your very best tonight. I want you to step into that ring with the intention of murdering me if that’s what you have to do to reclaim what’s supposed to be yours.”

She smirks again.

Tam Nakano: “Because after Nakano vs Baker III I don’t want there to be any room for pathetic excuses as to why you couldn’t get the job done. No whining about how you almost had me. This is going to be our final battle, Britt. One way or another there will never be another contest between us. Either you step up and shock the world by ending not only my reign but my career in EBWF, or I put you back in your place and continue to be the most dominant champion in EBWF history. It’s so exciting my heart’s beating out of my chest!”

She mockingly holds a hand over her heart. Her smirk turns sadistic as she continues.

Tam Nakano: “You earned your right to challenge me by defeating my family - a family that needs an overhaul, thanks for exposing that. It’s just another thing in the long line of things you’ve done and will continue to do for me. Your rises in this company have always preceding my biggest victories, and I couldn’t ask for a better setup to the biggest of this reign. A proud hero staking her claim to the top prize in the whole sport, running the gauntlet of Oedo Tai and winning her biggest opportunity - only to get cut down, ground into a fine powder and scattered to the winds when she’s face to face with the Final Boss.”

She flashes a saccharine smile.

Tam Nakano: “What a delicious Christmas present you’ve given me, Britt. You really shouldn’t have!”

She then taps her chin thoughtfully before an idea strikes her.

Tam Nakano: “And I’ve got just the present for you. A reality check.”

Tam stands up, removing the belt from around her waist and motioning to the camera with it.

Tam Nakano: “This is the greatest prize in our sport. A symbol of excellence which only the very best - and Becky Lynch somehow - can claim to have held. You might’ve held it once, but let’s be real - does anyone remember a single thing you did with it? Or do they just talk about what came afterwards? The history shattering reign, the formation of EBWF’s most dominant unit, and the third coronation of Tam when EBWF slipped into the shit again. I’ve single handedly made this the most sought after, prestigious prize in professional wrestling. The thing every woman in the world who laces up the boots aspires to be. I’m not just the Final Boss. I AM the unrealistic standard by which all those women are judged - including you.”

She lowers the belt onto her shoulder.

Tam Nakano: “And from where I’m standing, you just don’t measure up. You hold yourself back by acting all noble and honorable, then have to dig yourself out of the whole that inevitably gets you stuck in. I don’t let anything get in the way of getting what I want. I go that extra mile to break my opponents, outlast them, and leave them staring up at the lights. And I will be the last one standing when the clock strikes midnight on your little fairy tale of redemption.”

Tam glares so intensely the camera might catch on fire.

Tam Nakano: “This is the end, Britt. You may have come to hate me..”

Her sneer turns to a smirk.

Tam Nakano: “But you will NEVER be better than me.”