One More Time

[Utami]

The Fanniversary logo is front and center, its metallic golden tone glinting in a distant light. As ‘One More Time' by Tremonti plays in the background, we zoom in on the logo to see a gold tinted montage unfolding. First a younger Tam Nakano making her first entrance on Monday Night Warfare, then her first stare down with Alexa Bliss. Next Alexa destroys the original P-Chan before we jump to Tam barely eking out a win over Alexa at her first Christmas Eve of Destruction. Then we jump ahead to Last Survivor 2023 where, after the intervention of Christian Cage, Tam once again pins Alexa. Finally we jump forward to the Queen of the Ring quarterfinals to see Tam emerge victorious again. The final image is that of Tam standing tall in the ring at Gateway To Glory with the EBWF Women's Championship held high and a sadistic grin on her face.

Shortly thereafter the music becomes distorted and breaks down into a loud static grind. Everything goes to black for a moment. A woman laughs maniacally. When at last something pierces the veil of shadow, it's the Fanniversary logo with ‘Oedo Tai' spray painted over it. The camera pans out, revealing this to be painted on a brick wall. Just below it is the golden Queen of the Ring throne, a crossed pair of Oedo Tai flags on poles set up behind it.

To the left stands Himeka, holding the EBWF Women's Championship up for all to see. To the right is a frustrated Mina Shirakawa, arms crossed over her chest. On the throne itself sits EBWF’s Final Boss, Tam Nakano, in her full black and purple ring gear. She preens for the camera as it centers the shot on her.

TAM NAKANO: “Isn't it funny how time rolls on inexorably, yet certain things anchor us to the past? We get older, maybe wiser, and our outlook on the world can shift dramatically. But every year there's still points in time that remind us of where we've been. Anniversaries of great victories or, for people like Alexa Bliss, of failure after failure. And when the greatest of those anniversaries comes around again, it's only fair to look back at where we've been.”

She cracks a wry smile.

TAM NAKANO: “After all, Fanniversary is the biggest night in professional wrestling! A showcase of the best and brightest our sport has to offer. An evening where dreams have come true, legacies are secured and the entire landscape of the sport can change with a simple one..”

She daintily holds up a hand to count with her fingers.

TAM NAKANO: “Two..”

Her smile teases savagery.

TAM NAKANO: “Three.”

Tam lowers her hand and leans back on her throne.

TAM NAKANO: “This is the night where the Final Boss was really born. After a disastrous end to my first run in this company as a starry eyed newcomer, I learned what it really took to be elite. Losing this beautiful championship the first time was a tragedy of my own making. It haunted me, drove me to brutalize my mind and soul until not a single ounce of weakness remained. When I returned I laid waste to every last woman who stood between me and MY championship. I demanded my shot against the dentist and put her down on this very night. That night changed both of us. Britt has constantly failed to live up to expectations, always tripping over her own ambition no matter how badly she wants redemption.”

Tam toys with a strand of hair as she recounts the past.

TAM NAKANO:“Meanwhile, I went on to prove time and time again that I was the greatest professional wrestler alive, the most dominant champion in EBWF history. No one could measure up! No one can EVER measure up. I saw the truth at last that in my absence, the level of women's wrestling here had suffered greatly. What was once the most elite roster in the world was a joke. A bunch of complacent has beens and never weres clamoring over a tarnished symbol of excellence. One that I rescued with my ruthlessness and skill. One that I finally reclaimed again once I decided it was time to stop playing around.”

At the snap of Tam’s fingers, Himeka holds the belt up like a top tier prize fighter’s hype woman.

TAM NAKANO: “Becky Lynch never changed. She never managed to improve herself enough to compete at my level. As champion she failed to seize the division and pull it up out of the muck of mediocrity. She got lucky this year.. and then reality hit hard. The reality that I am still better than everyone. The reality that I can do whatever I want to whoever I want and take whatever I want. And so the beautiful championship came home to Tam.”

She flashes a smile as Himeka lowers the belt into her shoulder.

TAM NAKANO: “You know what else reminds me of where I've been? The sad, delusional little goddess who somehow weaseled her way into another shot at MY championship. A woman whose history has become so intertwined with my own that it almost seems like fate. Or maybe the worst punchline in the history of women's wrestling.”

Tam rolls her eyes as she begins to address her challenger.

TAM NAKANO: “From the moment I set foot in an EBWF ring, Alexa Bliss has been there to poke the.. panda, as it were. When I played nice she tried her very best to cripple me and tear apart everything I cared about. It wasn't enough. When we crossed paths again she got stabbed in the back by a man she really should've been suspicious of from the start. Not that it mattered; in fact he just hastened my inevitable victory. Over several months my family continued to wage a war that she started with us. We broke the Rebellious Angels. I extinguished the flame of their lightbringer and biggest star. She's disappeared yet again! And now the last woman rebelling against sanity itself thinks she can take this greatest prize from me? Thanks, Lexie, I needed a laugh.”

She laughs a little, her tone tinged with malice.

TAM NAKANO: “And she is truly crazy isn't she? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Three times she's stepped up to me, and three times she's ended up staring up at the lights. The fact that she is even in a position to threaten my third reign is a greater insult than all the bruises and scars she's given to me over the years. Oh yes, I remember each and every one. I play back the moments I got them in my mind every time Alexa and I cross paths. It reminds me of how much more suffering I still owe her. By earning her shot at me, by daring to try and take my title, she's sentenced herself to the worst beating yet. I don't need Oedo Tai at my side to annihilate her. And that's exactly what I plan to do.”

She shifts the belt on her shoulder casually as she makes her promise.

TAM NAKANO: “But at a certain point, battering the broken goddess has just become routine. A chore to do every few months just to remind her who's in charge. Since I returned in 2022 only one woman has ever beaten me one on one. She's not here anymore. I am without a doubt the most dominant woman in EBWF history, let alone the greatest champion this Ring's ever seen. Sadly, the allure of putting down Alexa again has lost a lot of appeal. Tam needs something to spice this up. Some extra drama to season my next defense. Even higher stakes for the greatest night in professional wrestling.”

She leans forward, brows furrowed as if about to share a great secret.

TAM NAKANO: “And one ray of hope for our little fallen goddess. You see, I want her at her very best. I want her to give me everything she has, holding nothing back. When she last lost to me with this belt on the line she had an excuse for her failure. This time there will be nothing of the sort. So I had a little something snuck into the fine print to make this more exciting and draw the best out of her. I could’ve added something to benefit myself, but honestly Alexa doesn’t have anything I want. But there is something for her - a chance to be a hero.”

Tam smirks.

TAM NAKANO: “Alexa, if you can somehow make this miracle happen - if you can do what no one else remaining in that locker room has been able to do - then you aren’t just the new EBWF Women’s Champion. No, no. When I won back MY title I promised that I would hold it until the end of my career. Hate me or not, I keep my promises. So if you somehow manage to defeat me? I will retire from EBWF. You will have ended the career of the greatest wrestler in EBWF history and cemented your legacy.”
Tam shakes her head.

TAM NAKANO: “Actually, I do get something WHEN I win. The satisfaction of having inflicted the most devastating blow to your standing in this business. Everyone is going to spit in your face and push you away after you fail to be the hero they desperately hoped to be. You’ll have had the chance to end EBWF’s nightmare, to vanquish the Final Boss once and for all and open up a new era the company’s history. And you just.. Couldn’t… do it. Ooooh, that gets my heart racing even more than the heightened stakes! Destroying your credibility is the final step to complete victory over you in the most one-sided rivalry in EBWF history. I can’t wait.”

She at last stands up and holds the belt up high.

TAM NAKANO: “So give me your best, Lexie. Throw everything you have at me in a desperate bid to prove you’re more than just a shattered shell of the woman who once was. Crazy or not, it makes no difference. I am going to put you down AGAIN. My reign and my career will continue on for the next fool to try and end. Because at the end of the day.. You may hate me-”

The champion winks into the camera, to Alexa.

TAM NAKANO: “But you will never in a million years be better than me.”