#OnceAgain (Tam Nakano)

[Utami]

The first thing we hear is the sound of an old film projector clacking away out of view as an actual silver screen is suddenly filled with cover. A countdown flashes before us, each number interspersed with a split second glimpse of a pair of eyes glaring down the camera with steely resolve. With each glimpse the shot pulls out a little more and we can see glittery gems sparling on the cheeks of none other than Tam Nakano. At 1 she bows her head and suddenly we see white lettering on a green screen that reads:

‘THE FOLLOWING PREVIEW HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR ALL AUDIENCES BY THE INTERNATIONAL FINAL BOSS ASSOCIATION’

After this flickers we see the skyline of Bllings, Montana and a date in purple: “01 MARCH 2021”. In quick succession we see Becky Lynch making her way to the ring, then Tam in her old adorable gear with the EBWF Women’s Championship around her waist posing for the crowd. This is followed by clips of Tam applying submission holds, Becky countering with a DDT and then hitting the Manhandle Slam for a surprise win. Next we find ourselves at Wrestlemania that year with Becky, Raquel and Tam all exchanging blows before the former two pin Tam simultaneously. The camera lingers on the shellshocked face of the then-former champion as she lays on the mat. Suddenly jump back to the glare of the present Tam, then back to an image of her old self crying backstage at Wrestlemania XX with more text at the bottom of the screen:

‘NEVER FORGET’

We then jump again to a lineup of three portraits hung on a brick wall. At first we can clearly make out their identities: Raquel Diaz, Arisa Hoshiki and Becky Lynch. Then we see Tam hitting her finisher on Shaul/Raquel and getting the pin, with the text ‘QOTR 2024’ at the bottom. A jump cut follows and we see her portrait has a purple X spray painted over it. Next we see Tam clock Arisa with her own finisher and get the pin, now with ‘TOTAL SUPREMACY’ at the bottom of the screen. Then Arisa’s portrait on the wall with an X as well. Finally we see Tam Nakano standing before the portrait of Becky holding the EBWF Women’s Championship, glaring up into the champion’s eyes. She shakes her can of spray paint, smirks, and then the projector screen bursts into flames. As it melts away we see words “OEDO TAI” spray painted on the wall behind it.

The camera then pans to the left where we see the Final Boss of EBWF sitting on her golden throne with a small bucket of popcorn on her lap. At her feet rests the barbed wire bat she’s made a habit of carrying around since becoming Queen of the Ring. To either side of her stand members of Oedo Tai - Jamie Hayter and Rhea Ripley to the left, Himeka and Mina Shirakawa to the right. Tam’s grin is savage as the shot centers on her.

TAM NAKANO: “I do so hope that you enjoyed the preview, champ. I know how much more movies mean to you than wrestling, how strongly the silver screen calls you even when you’re somehow champion of the highest level of our sport. Deep down you’re already brainstorming the next yawn-inducing ‘action’ film you’ll force on the whole world so that they get down on their knees and praise you for your creative genius. Every Warfare, every press conference and public appearance you make with that beautiful championship you’re only care about one thing: that Becky Lynch is imposed on the entire world, no matter how much she’s actually lacking on the screen and in the ring. When my opponent is so high on her own shit and locked away in her ivory tower, the only way to get her attention is to speak to her on her level.”

Tam tosses the popcorn to Himeka, who just manages to steady it before all of the kernels spill to the floor.

TAM NAKANO: “Do I have your attention, Becks? Or do you still have your head up your own ass? I guess I have to apologize, because I kind of lied to you before. This isn’t about some preview - this is a spoiler. A promise of what’s going to go down at Gateway to Glory, the biggest show of the summer, and the place where I made history last year. Last year I revealed my little family to the world and set the standard for what women’s wrestling can be. Every time I stepped into this ring with that beautiful championship around my waist, all eyes were on women’s wrestling. Every fan clung to my every movement and watched with bated breath as the very ‘best’ in the sport stepped up to me and failed to measure up in the face of the greatest of all time. Their last hope, the legendary Trish Stratus cut in line to take me down at this very show one year ago. If anyone could do it, surely she could? Your most hated enemy, the longest reigning women’s champion of all time!

She scoffs at the very thought of Trish challenging her.

TAM NAKANO: “She fought her hardest, but in the end she just couldn’t get it done against the most dominant woman in EBWF history. I drove her into that mat, crushed her dreams and shattered her record. And that’s the fate that’s waiting for you Becks. No matter how much you despise Trish, no matter how much you alienate management because of your stupid personal vendettas, in the end you’re destined to share the same fate with her. Just knowing how much that will make your blood boil makes me so very happy. When we’re finished, your name will be spoken in the same sentence as the woman you hate the most. You’ll just have to live with that failure. Even when you inevitably run away to go back to another ego driven project, it will live rent free in your mind. Every day you’ll wake up, look in the mirror and have to accept that just like Trish, you couldn’t box with god.”

She laughs a little and taps her fingers on the armrest of the throne.

TAM NAKANO: “How much did I just piss you off? Are you going to do something drastic to change fate itself? Spare me the shitty movie scene where you shoot me in the forehead, Becks, that won’t get you anywhere but the local medical facility. Right next to your little friend Alexa, who’s probably going to be sent there after falling flat on her face attempting to push her broken body to one more shot at a title she never deserved. Neither she nor you have anything resembling common sense. None of your little gang live in the real world. You just decide to be rebellious even if that digs a deeper and deeper hole for you. The only thing your Angels succeed in rebelling against is reality! So it falls to me to give their beloved leader, The Man of the people, the harshest reality check in the history of EBWF.”

She shifts forward in the seat, causing the Queen of the Ring crown on her head to slide to the side.

TAM NAKANO: “Because watching you parade around with the most prestigious championship in women’s professional wrestling makes me sick. You’ve taken the thing that means the most in the world to me and tarnished it just by putting your sticky fingers on its beautiful plates. For 365 days I made that championship the most must-see title in the world, the true main event of any show I appeared on. I raised the level of professional wrestling and pushed everyone to work their asses off and claw their way up to a new level just to have a chance at competing with me. Even you took things to a new level - you’re welcome, by the way - and finally took the crown for yourself from the woman who helped steal it from its true owner. Since you realized your girlhood dream what’s happened? Has the world turned its full attention to you? Or have you wasted every waking moment as champion boring everyone to tears, culminating in the most graceless, bloody, stomach turning waste of time of any champion in the history of this company?”

She adjusts the crown back to the center of her head.

TAM NAKANO: “Meanwhile I decided it was time to stop playing with my favorite punching bags and take back what’s mine. Well, to be fair it was also to settle the few lingering scores that remained unsettled. Since I debuted in EWBF in 2020 I’ve been the most dominant woman in that locker room. Many stepped up, many were exposed as B+ players at best. Only three women have ever managed to get lucky enough to pin my shoulders to that mat. Two of them stole that beautiful championship from me and paid the ultimate price this year when I decided I wanted this crown. Shaul-quel Guer-Diaz was the first and she got herself bounced hard when she had to fight me woman to woman; she was so humiliated she hasn’t shown her face since! Arisa was the luckiest woman in company history NOT named Becky Lynch, and she may never wrestle again. Two down. One to go.”

Tam licks her lips at the very thought.

TAM NAKANO: That one is you, champ. You’re the last name on my list, the last one who’s escaped justice for what she did. Three years ago you couldn’t just let things be for Wrestlemania between me and Sahul-quel. No. You saw that women’s championship match and threw a fit because once again you didn’t get to be in the spotlight. A spotlight you didn’t deserve! So you forced the issue and beat a weaker version of me, then probably complained backstage that you also deserved to challenge me. You definitely kept whining about how you were the real champion, I wonder if that helped you get your way. Point is, I’ve been preparing for this day since the moment you two stole my dream. Now that I’ve destroyed the other two, you’ve got my full attention.”

With that Tam leans forward as if she’s about to have an intimate conversation with the champion.

TAM NAKANO: “That’s the worst news you could ever receive, Becks. Just ask your BFFs Alexa and Liv what happens when you step into my ring. You might have beaten that Scottish sidekick to a pulp at Total Supremacy, but that’s done nothing to prepare you for me. Nikki Cross is so far beneath me that you’d have to dig to the earth’s core to find her remains. I’m the standard by which all other women are measured. I’m the best wrestler in the world AND in the history of EBWF. You are the woman who’s in my way, the one who’s taken MY beautiful championship. There’s only one way this ends.”

She stands tall and makes the ‘title’ motion around her waist.

TAM NAKANO: “With my entire being, every ounce of my unmatched skill and greatness, focused on you, you’ll be lucky to survive. You will be beaten pillar to post, a masterpiece of pain and suffering painted on the canvas in your blood. Becks, I’m going to be real - you will be thanking whatever god you pray to that you’re able to walk out under your own power. The level of the entire women’s division has slipped since Fanniversary last year, and I’ll be damned if I let you drag it down any further. That belt belongs to me. Just because I’ve let you play with it for a few months doesn’t change facts. And the fact is that no matter how hard you push, no matter how many times you spill your very blood to defend it, it’s coming home.”

Tam takes another step closer to the camera and smiles cutely.

TAM NAKANO: “You’ve risen up to the very top of what you’re capable of, Becks. You spent years struggling, failing, suffering just to finally have that gold around your waist. Clutch the belt tight, enjoy every last fleeting moment you have with it. Because the end is in sight and soon you’ll be facing the Final Boss. The woman who’s lost only once since her return, the woman whose legacy you’re dirtying with your ego-driven victory lap filled with disappointment, struggle and yawns from your adoring public. The woman who’s seen you continue to lead your ragtag band of losers in a death spiral of defiance against the people who run this place. I can’t just sit back and watch you make a mockery of MY beautiful championship. I’m going to annihilate you and reclaim that title so there’s no mistaking whose house this is.”

Her cute smile turns cold and biting.

TAM NAKANO: “I know you’re a hateful woman who holds grudges for a very long time, so I have no doubt you’ll hate me most of all when this is over. Go ahead. Hate me all you like, but you will NEVER be better than me.”

With that she tilts her head to the side, smirks, and the video goes dark.