A Long Time Coming - Pom Pom Punchers/SWAT Cats Interview

[winner3]

In the center of the ring, an interviewer fumbled with her microphone as she stood between two of the most popular and notable teams in the company. On one side stood perhaps the greatest trios tag team in professional wrestling today, LAW's World Tag Team Champions, the famed SWAT Cats. And on the other side stood a pair of rising stars in LAW's tag division: the Inaugural LAWLESS Champion, the outspoken and endlessly energetic and passionate Rumblin' Rocket Amber Skye, and the alluring and amicable speed demon of the team, Cheryl Williams. Together, the Pom Pom Punchers posed a threat in more ways than one. But tonight, the atmosphere heavy in the ring and throughout the arena was heavy.

The SWAT Cats

From the perspective of the fans watching at home, the entrances had already taken place. Maybe it was a commercial break or maybe things were always planned this way, but the energy from both teams' usual enthusiastic and crowd-pleasing entrances seemed to have dissipated. The SWAT Cats stood with contemplative looks on their faces. There was a lot for them to work through in this situation. On top of the usual responsibility to look and act like champions, to be the faces for and the bar for tag team wrestling at LAW and in the wrestling industry as a whole, there was the fact that this interview was originally set to be spearheaded by one Lexy Alan, the premiere LAW hostess and interview who soured on them in their most recent interview. And even beyond all that, at the forefront of everyone's minds were the torrent of verbal attacks and roasts Amber Skye had thrown the champions' way over the course of their reign. Whether it was via social media, or promos backstage, Skye had torn into LAW's famed and beloved luchadoras relentlessly. Tracy, in particular, closed her eyes and breathed deeply. This was her way of dealing, but Katherine and Aurora knew that this was also her trying to avoid just going off and flying off the handle.

"Hey, um, do you mind if I?" Kat would begin gesturing towards the interviewer. It has only been maybe twenty seconds or so but this whole time the interview girl seemed to be at a loss for words and a way to kick this segment off proper. She motioned for the woman's microphone, procuring it from her before looking across the ring at Amber and Cheryl. Though they had a lot on their minds, the SWAT Cats gave this promo a very measured approach. They planned to share the one mic between themselves if they got to speak. For now, Tracy and Aurora each held onto one of the tag team champion belts while Kat started things off.

"There's a lot of tension here, tonight, and understandably so..." Kat paused for the crowd to react.

"Before we jump into this, we wanna make sure that we're not crossing you guys, The Pom-Pom Punchers. So before we really get into any of the meat and potatoes with this, let me clear it with you two."Hart continued. She'd gesture to Amber, then Cheryl, then back to Amber.

"You guys have been voicing your intentions to be tag team champions for a little while. And in doing so, you've done some commentary on us, right? Amber and Cheryl, more so Amber, less so Cheryl- you guys have gotten plenty of chances to speak your minds and comment on us. If it's alright with you guys, if it's alright with these good people in the stands and the good people at home, we'd like to speak first and offer some kind of rebuttal, as the tag team champions."

"Can we have your blessing for that? Is that okay?" She genuinely asked the cheerleader tagteam, hoping her approach was heartfelt enough and amicable enough for a productive dialogue.

[Fairy Dragon]

The normally cheery Punchers, Cheryl and Amber weren't really smiling this time around knowing that they were face to face with the people they had been wanting to fight for well over a year now. In fact they had wanted a confrontation like this since The Swat Cats won the titles in the match the Punchers were eliminated from. They had won match after match in tag teams since then but despite wanting and fighting for a match it seemed they were never on the radar, Cheryl wanted to keep pushing for a chance by winning more matches...Amber had her own way and now it seemed Amber's loudmouth did what Cheryl's passive approach did. She had to admit she was a little annoyed by that, because now there was some tension where she didn't want any and it made it seem like it was the only reason they were being called at all. If they simply proved to be a worthy team would that have never been enough? They answered the open challenge what more could anyone want them to do to actually get a match? Kat finally spoke getting the nervous interviewer to hand her the mic so she could speak before talking in a measured approach that seemed to be done to try and calm any tensions. Cheryl simply turned to the interviewer with a smile and moved to grab her hand.

Spoiler

"Don't be nervous miss, just please take a minute and relax, we'll get back to you if we need you." Cheryl said in a calming fashion before she would actually leave the ring, surprising a few fans until they saw her grab a chair from outside and brought it into the ring, unfolding it so the nervous new guest who was trying to replace Lexy was clearly intimidated by the situation. Once she took a seat Cheryl would smile in her direction once more before turning to Kat. "You have the floor." Cheryl said arms behind her back and a playful but non hostile smile on her face.

[Taskmaster12]

Amber eyed everyone in the ring except Cheryl with a cautious eye. She knew that they were outnumbered so a fight breaking out was not the play but if she felt they were being disrespectful she would put the P in punchers on every single masked cats face. This has been the confrontation she had been hoping for, a chance to look the cats in the eye without someone interrupting to deny them the title match that they had been looking for. But part of her doubted it would be this easy. The Cats had been refusing to fight them for some time now and doing many things that Amber had been pretty vocally against while still holding the belts that she felt rightfully belonged around her and Cheryl’s sexy waists. The blonde Rumbling Rocket wouldn’t let a simple no be the answer to that question, she didn’t care what reason they gave she would force a yes out of them if she had to because the ref they hadn’t even gotten a shot yet had bothered her for months. She bit her thoughts down at Cheryl’s insistence but after so long they all came out. Amber’s bitterness and anger at feeling ignored her made good tv for anyone watching the tag team circuit and built some anticipation between the time these two would finally meet but Amber knew that deep down it had left her and Cheryl slightly off page with each other. She was confident all they needed was a match and the two would be back in each other’s good graces hand that this slight rift was temporary. She only did everything for the both of them and she was sure Cheryl knew that even if she didn’t like what she did.

Finally Kat and Cheryl took charge of the awkward silence that had taken place since the interviewer; who was as green at this as Lexy Alan’s hair color, had failed to find the right way to start this conversation everyone was dying to see. Kat took the mic while Cheryl babied the poor thing into sitting down until she could better get her mind right which if anyone else had done that would have looked almost insulting but Cheryl seemed to have just the right innocence to pull it off. Kat’s words swayed Cheryl into letting her speak leaving just Amber to decide what to do. She looked at each one of them with inspecting look but only Tracy showed any signs of similar frustration. Aurora seemed to be observing them while Kat had a pleading look to go along with her wanting to speak first. Amber looked at Cheryl and decided to trust her on this one. She couldn’t read them for any signs of what they would say but she didn’t want to go against what her friend wanted twice and gave Cheryl a nod to tell her that. “I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

[winner3]

With the tag champs being given the Punchers' blessing to take the floor, it was finally time for The SWAT Cats to air down deep-seated personal feelings, as the tone of this promo and encounter seemed to suggest. The air was still heavy. But that didn't mean that manners and professionalism had to go out the window. Kat would put her hands together and very slightly bow her head before uttering her next words.

"Thank you." Hart would say in a rather sincere tone of voice.

She stood up straight once more and walked over to the ropes to lean over them and prompt the production crew at ringside for mics for Tracy and Aurora. Once all three SWAT Cats were situated with mics in hand, a brief but heavy pause preceded the next words.

"My, here's certainly quite a bit for us to unpack isn't there....?" Aurora would start.

"So where do we begin?"

"Oh, I'm about to unpack something alright!" Tracy walked up aggressively with her mic raised to her face, seemingly ready to go off then and there!

Kat and Aurora were quick to extend their hands, separating their friend from The Punchers. Tracy would raise the palms of her bent arms and roll her eyes before closing them. Tracy was upset but a serious look from her teammates helped put her back on track. The Circus Cat knew this wasn't the time or the place. She paused and took two audible, deep breaths.

"I'm cool....I'm cool, I promise." Canon said in a more composed tone.

"I'll admit that more than anybody else out there, I got heated but y'all knew that already. Mama Tracy wears her heart on her sleeve for better or for worse and she's darn proud of it!" Tracy roared to the crowd who roared back with cheers in kind!

"But let's get back on track. I know exactly where we should start! Let's start with why we're having it out here trying to have this dialogue in the first place! Let's start with the fact that the tag team champions don't owe Amber Skye and Cheryl Williams a conversation! Let's start with the fact that we couldda skipped doing any of this! And we could have just gotten in the ring with you guys, thrown down, beat BOTH of your cute little cheerleader behinds into next week, and then carry on with the knowledge that we PROVED that all your SWAT Cats Slander is just that! Slander! Nothing but hot air and empty words. Nothing but the rumblings of a little rocket that though she could!"

"Easy, Trace." Aurora interjected as Tracy got more and more heated while making her point. And by taking a second to reign her best friend in, Tracy was able to finish making it.

"I hope the intended message so far has been received." The redheaded luchadora would continue.

"By doing things this way, by having a conversation with you guys, we wanted to continue setting an example as champions. Do you honestly think for even one minute that Lillian would wanna hash things out with her challengers? Do you think Rose Gold cares about having a dialogue outside of anything that makes her high horse look even higher? The fact is that many of our fellow champions are only interested in propping up themselves. But the SWAT Cats are interested in bolstering our entire division! We don't want to just be the faces of tag team wrestling! We want to elevate it and we have! And no matter what happens tonight, we will continue to do just that in spite of your slander or anyone else's!"

"Well said, guys." Kat interjected.

"We're gonna keep doing our best to do right by the fans, by this company, and by the tag division. We even wanna do right by you guys and that's why we wanted to talk in the first place. Cheryl, Amber, you guys don't have to care about that." The Super Kitty pointed at the Punchers. Before placing her hand on her own buxom chest.

"We do. Because we care about doing the right thing and that's good enough for us." Kat was interrupted by cheers here for a moment. But she'd get back into it after the subsided. More cheers would follow during the heights of her promo here.

"Tracy touched on it before but let's dive into the SWAT Cats Slander Skye's been pushing. You got that heat, Amber, I gotta give you that. You gave us a very sobering reminder that while the world at large is behind Tracy, Aurora, and myself, while we can go to any autograph signing or any airport or coffee shop or any sports arena and find the same positive treatment that we've given to the masses reciprocated and given back to us in kind...it's not always like that backstage. It's not always like that in these interviews, in the locker rooms. There is a very loud and tangible minority of LAW wrestlers and staff that, to put it lightly, really don't like us."

"And that's nothing new, right? Having your detractors no matter how good or bad you are in this ring and out of it is just a part of the business. The three of us are professionals, we roll with those punches. But every now and then there comes a haymaker that.... just ain't so easy to just roll with, you know what I mean?"

"And when those come around, it's not the fact that a lot of those zingers are just patently false, no. Fans are smarter than a lot of wrestlers give them credit for. And The SWAT Cats, well we're no slouches, ourselves."

"When guys like old man Eiji Matsumoto make comments that someone like Aurora is "still proving herself" despite the fact that she's undefeated, despite the fact that she's a champion at this company, despite the fact that she's main evented We Are LAW, we know his assessment is BS. But it sits with us for as long as it has to, Aurora processes it like the strong black woman we all know she is and she moves on." Kat would hug Aurora from the side in a display of support before returning her attention to the Punchers and continuing.

"When Camie Young does everything in her power to try and hijack one of these very interviews, all in an effort to slander Tracy's good name, the fans know Camie's wrong. The people believe in Tracy. Aurora and I believe in Tracy! The people! Love! The Circus Cat!" Tracy would pose confidently with her hands on her hips. And as she did, Kat would hug her from the side similar to how she did Aurora.

"And in my case, you know what stuck with me? The crew you hung out with the one time Amber...Robin, Jenna, and Tammy. This company needs personalities like them doing commentary and they do great work. But when Jenna actively backs a rival of mine in Picofalena, a woman who was doing everything in her power to try and end my career. Heh, I don't know how to even respond to that level of malice and meanspiritedness without just trying to laugh it off. Because if I can't laugh it off, I'll get angry about it and think about doing things that I might regret."

"But all of that, Amber! All of it, plays second fiddle to that SWAT Cats Slander you been peddling!!!"

Tracy would rub her hands together before stepping forward and speaking up!

"HERE! WE! GO! I been waiting for this part!"

"I have an itemized list but I think Kat can start us off."

"Oh, I will! There's a whole 95 Theses I can write on this, but let's stick with the main talking points. There's a lot that you've said about us, but let's stick with Amber's greatest hits. That's been the thing we've been building up to so far, yeah?" Intrigue and eyebrows raised all around the arena!

"Yeah, we've talked a lot but now we're getting to the meat and potatoes! Amber, you've said that, these World Tag Team Championships don't feel important being held by The SWAT Cats. You've said that these belts are just props to us?! Tickets to Apex. Belts that we barely defend while trying to capture new ones!"

"You compared us to other champions in this company, citing that because we didn't get to defend the tag team championships at a pay-per-view the one time, we've utterly failed as tag team champions...!" Loud boos ensued from the fans both in the arena and watching at home.

"Now granted, you did say that you welcome us to prove some of these allegations wrong by fighting you. Not all of them, but some." Estrella would chime in.

"But you gon' learn reaaaaal quick when we wrestle that even(bold) as a joke, none of what you said gonna fly! Not today! Not ever!" Tracy interjected, pointing at Amber aggressively as she continued.

"I hit you guys up on Twitter the other day! And I get hit with what? MORE slander! MORE animosity! Over a match WE DIDN'T ASK FOR! How quickly you pom-pom throwing pansies forget that we didn't call off the match at Fight The LAW! We didn't ASK for The Thundergirls at We Are LAW! Just like we didn't ASK to go last in the Tag Gauntlet match we won the championships in! Just like we didn't ASK for your SASS, Amber!" This time there was no reigning in. Kat and Aurora let Tracy go off! And the crowd was behind The Circus Cat!

"You got a lot of nerve saying you can only get our attention with insults and verbal abuse! Especially when we've straight up proven that's not true! Multiple times, too!"

"The SWAT Cats Open Challenges where we've been defending these "rarely defended" belts!" She said with heavy air quotes.

"The Ashfords! The Booty Princesses! The Danger Double Tatsumi's! The Thundergirls! Every one of these meetings didn't see any teams insult each other! The worst we've had it is getting jumped by The Ashfords! And I'd even take THAT over all your slander, girl!"

"You really wanna lie to people and say that the only way to get our attention is to insult us?! You are literally the only team that's out here insulting us!!! And you wonder why it's hard for you to get our attention?!"

"And don't get us STARTED on the grimy and unsavory comparisons you've made between us and the other champions in this company! The SWAT Cats have kept it real with you from day 1! We had a mission statement as champions! We were out to showcase this division! We were out to elevate tag wrestling! To show that LAW has the best tag division in the world and that we were worthy of sitting at the very top of it! How many other champions can you say honestly give a crap about proving the worth of their division?! How many other champions give a crap about putting anyone on the map other than themselves?!"

"I couldn't name you the last challenger that Lillian chose to take on where it genuinely felt like she was up against someone that could beat her! Who's she defended against?! Up-and-comers! And people who no longer work here! Her toughest match was against Tina and she had to jump Tina with help beforehand!"

"I suppose you'll say that there's something to be gained by comparing us to the Lightweight Champion, Rose Gold, and her dozens of soulless and quite frankly boring Midas Touch Segments! Where she's showcased the talents of....just herself?"

"And then you wanna compare chicks like that to us and what we do?! Amber, you can lie to me with a straight face if you want to, but you know deep down that we could lose these belts today and it would still be facts that we elevated Tag Wrestling at this company!"

"Say it's not facts! Go right ahead! I dare you!"

"Sis, who were you even wrestling before we became tag team champions?! Huh?! Who?!"

"Model Behavior!!!! A pair of supermodels that should have been in the Young Lioness Program for years before they even thought about making the jump from the runway to the ring!"

"The Adorable Cuties!!!! The job squad that somehow always finds a way to pull that L despite having the numbers on their side each and every time!

"Maybe you haven't used those adorable blue eyes of yours to check the landscape of LAW's tag division! But it's changed, girl! And for the better, too! And WE did that! THE SWAT CATS DID THAT! And you saw that firsthand at Fight The LAW!"

"Gettem, Trace!"

"The LAW tag division is better than it's ever been! And how did we get there? We challenged it to step up! And we delivered on our end as well! We gave The Ashford Family the best tag match of their careers! We gave The Princesses the best tag match of their careers! We main evented pay-per-views defending these titles against The Thundergirls! We put the whole tag division on display and on notice at Fight The LAW and highlighted some of the best teams in this company! Teams that are all worthy of challenging for and holding these belts! Teams that want to lead and carry this division! Teams that care about LAW World Tag Team Championships! Teams like...The Heartbreakers! Teams like...The Wings or Wrestling! Teams like The Pom-Pom Punchers ...!"

"Don't get us wrong, we do acknowledge you. But it's just, well, it's rather hypocritical, isn't it? You say everything in your power to paint the picture that we've devalued these titles. And yet you still boldly proclaim your intentions to capture them from us? Don't you want them precisely because they have value? Value that WE gave them?!"

"Yeah, I don't see The Superstars or The Street Dogs tearing us down, saying that we're devaluing anything. If anything, I see the opposite. I've been put through tables for these. I've bled for these. I've been thrown off ladders for these. I have been jumped in the parking lot! Because we have these!"

"And I'll lose my mask! I'll quit this company, I'll retire from the ring before I let there be even an ounce of truth to the idea that we haven't added prestige to these titles! You understand me?!"

Each of The SWAT Cats needed a second to find their composure. They had all poured their hearts out. It took a moment for Tracy to find herself again and exhale a deep sigh of relief. Kat placed her hand on her chest for a smaller sigh. Aurora looked contemplative but even she began to calm down. It was clear that all 3 of them had been meaning to get a lot of this off of their chests for a while.

"Look, look, look. We got in our feelings a little bit. There's a lot of pressure being champions. If you ladies wanna rock a chip on your shoulder and be proud of the fact that you got the champs heated, that you got in our heads, by all means, you do that. You've earned that much and I can't take that from you."

"We've raved and ranted and we've gotten a lot off our chests. And while we still have a lot pent up inside us, here's the most important thing by far."

"Despite everything we've said, we aren't mad at you guys-"

"I dunno, I'm still kinda mad!" Tracy raised her hand.

"Okay, we don't hate you guys. We're just angry with some of the things Amber's said about us. In much the same way that I'm sure even now, you guys don't hate us...you just have a strong, overwhelming desire to be the very best. And the three of us just happen to be in the way of that. That's all."

"So why don't you do us all a huge favor? Pom-Pom Punchers....take The SWAT Cats Tag Team Open Challenge. Name your stipulation. Name the two of us you wanna fight for these titles. And win, lose, or draw, let's agree to accept the outcome and bury the hatchet. Let's wrestle each other and agree to do everything we can for tag team wrestling and for this company as a whole."

"What do you guys, say?" Kat would extend her hand in the hopes that either Puncher would accept the olive branch she was trying to offer and put feelings aside in the hopes of putting in a spirited tag title match!

[Fairy Dragon]

Cheryl had been the calm one throughout this entire encounter, alongside Aurora the two of them had been the calming hands when the more heated teammates in Tracy and Amber reared up and started some unpleasant altercations from the two members who had no filter. Cheryl had expected to be the one that they went too to keep things down on this end, in fact when they were mediating things they were almost asking her to keep Amber from barking so that they could talk....All good news she supposed but one thing she noticed and didn't like was how much she didn't seem to matter once the conversation actually started. She knew it was her fault, Amber had always been so outspoken and managed to steal the show at times because of it. It made sense that most of the problems they seemed to have came from her words and her actions...yet Cheryl felt herself trying to bite down a rising sense of anger and pride that she had. She was a part of this team that was calling for a chance to become the tag team champions just as much as Amber and the fact that she seemed to barely exist to these three felt like she was playing second fiddle in a matter that was her primary concern. After everything was said she had to do something about it, taking a mic while she was seated to finally speak.

"Well I guess that was cathartic for some of you, mostly Tracy by how much steam seems to have come out." Cheryl joked, looking to lighten the mood before she spoke. She knew that she might say something that would make her cross so she might as well try to make her laugh as well. But she couldn't hold off on speaking about the offer or what was said. "Look I know you might not have meant anything with what you said, but I do still feel like some things are misunderstood. Tracy, you said you didn't owe us a conversation like this and how you could have just fought us and that would be the end of it. Well honestly if you had just squared up for a match we would have been fine with that, we already answered one open challenge so it's not we needed this either. A match is what we've been asking for in the end. Now for what you owe us...we never really felt we were owed anything, all of our lives we made a point to earn everything we got in life. When we had to take a half injured cheer-leading team to the finals? We did it and made our school proud without complaint. When we nearly got lost on the way to state because of bad directions and that cost us practice time? We still made it work and never once did we blame anyone or anything. When someone made us take on an experienced tag team as our first wrestling match with almost no experience beyond cheerleader training and a few self defense classes. No complaints, just a win and we've been working our way up since." Cheryl said, almost laughing at how many times they had gotten in trouble just to find a way out at the last moment. "Now since we've come to LAW we had other problems to deal with, like people seeing us as a cute little side show for main events? You brought that up inadvertently when you mentioned our matches before the gauntlet match, those were the only matches LAW would give us. 'Hey you two are cute why don't you go take on these models and make the crowd go crazy over your sexy bodies.' Oh you want proper match...hmm..go fight these cuties that'll make the crowd go berserk seeing you smother that team out.' Keep in mind this was after we took on the Jaegar sisters in our debut, showing we were wrestlers and cheerleaders and not just something you put up to catch eyes and expect a sexy time. I even got put in a hentai match...I'm straight I had no idea what to do there!" Cheryl said almost sounding traumatized by the experience even if it was a match she won.

"The point is getting the respect we want hasn't been easy, we've been looked down on ever since we came here despite having busted our asses and walked the same roads as many of these other girls and for what? To mess around with teams we knew we could beat who didn't take wrestling seriously and you think we're happy about that? We wanted to be the ones fighting the Thundergirls and the Wings of Wrestling the moment we got here but the moment we talked to the execs and bookers we knew that they didn't see us as a threat to any of them. So what did we do? We kept wrestling, we made a fool out of the models, we knocked out the cuties and we even gave the fans what they wanted so we didn't seem insulted by being put in those matches. And when we were given the opportunity in the tag team gauntlet we jumped on it, here was our chance to prove ourselves. We didn't complain about being in first we expected it even, we were supposed to be the cute toys that got beat by the Doms so the next team could avenge us...but that didn't happen. We took our beatings but we gave it back and we beat those doms and now they haven't been seen since, sure we lost but we started to shake things up...after that was done we got a match against some tough opponents, the Bayside babes and while we had some trouble we won, showing ourselves once again to be a good tag team. LAW tried to put us in that gimmick role one more time by making us take on Baewatch. Lifeguards who didn't look like they even knew how to put on a rest hold. We didn't like it and it was at that moment that I looked at Amber and said....'I'm fucking sick of this. Lets stop playing there game.'" Cheryl said and the fans who had actually been supportive started to act surprised since Cheryl didn't really show anger.

"So...we beat Baewatch..and we were less cute. After that LAW seemed to get the message, me and Amber started to be taken a little more seriously. We even got to take on the Wings of Wrestling in a smother elimination match, which we won. Now does that story sound like someone who feels like they are owed anything? All we ever wanted was to prove ourselves and anytime we had to do something we did it. We elevated ourselves, title belt or not we didn't wait or sit around. You mention our old matches before the gauntlet as if we were the ones who wanted to be there and not up taking on people that can push us. That's why we want those title belts, no offense intended but it has nothing to do with whatever you've done with them. Whether you devalued them or not there was no scenario where we don't go right for those because we know that while you think a match with us would just be one more notch on your belt, it will actually be one of...no THE best match that belt will ever see. When you want to go to the top you take everything you can to get there and once we win those belts, LAW will have to give us what we want and start treating us like the talent we already know we are." Cheryl said, sounding almost finished but letting everything she was saying sink in before she looked at Amber.

"I don't know what this Jenna and Tammy or Robin get into, or why Amber talks with them but I don't really care because I know everything she has done has been for the distinct purpose of getting that moment, one match is all we ever needed. But the road to getting it has been strange and annoying...nothing that caused more annoyance for us then when we finally answered your open challenge first, which so far has been all anyone needed and suddenly the rules changed...other people came out despite us already being there and then Dan came out and cancelled the thing. Despite the fact we made our case and despite the fact that the fans loved our case and you claimed to like it...the match wasn't allowed to happen even at a later date, we followed the rules we named an opponent, Tracy and Aurora because Kat was banged up..and yet Dan didn't even allow that because Kat was hurt...we didn't call out Kat? Why was our match not allowed to happen later like it did for DDT or the Thundergirls? Why was this a non issue for everyone that just got brushed to the side? You claim that you didn't ask
for the Thundergirls or our match to be cancelled..but you said nothing about it, in fact you could have simply told us the first ones to answer that open challenge that you'll fight us later, You didn't ask for it but they only got the match because of you. Why is it that the only Open challenge who answered first and didn't get a match until now was us? We didn't like that, so Amber complained...for the first time in her life since I've known her we complained about something...and now we're getting the look from Tracy...You came here all tense and acting like we're seconds away from fighting because Amber let out some steam that was a long time coming. Well I can't speak for her and how much she meant and how much was just getting a reaction out of you, but one thing I can't deny is that for better or worse the fact that her words got to you brought us this. And we're not wasting it so we accept this little offer...However we will not tolerate any disrespect like we've been tolerating it until now. Tracy you seem to think you'll just beat us and move on so we will turn this around and say this we will choose the stipulation...but if you don't think we're the best competition you can pick any combo you want to prove you're point and when we push you farther than you've ever been pushed before and take those titles like we would have any time you faced us earlier you'll know why we've been so passionate about becoming the champ." Cheryl finished addressing the things that bothered her the most. Now she would hand the mic off to Amber and wait to see what she had to say but stayed on her feet ready to move in the way in case Amber got too...aggressive.

[Taskmaster12]

“Preach!” Amber had been silent up till now to let Cheryl speak was happy to see her oldest friend say things in ways that were calm to everyone. As usual she expected that everyone would be much less annoyed by what she said since everything Amber said had got them in this situation in the first place. She had been boiling while the Cats tried to roast them in various ways that fit each girls style and felt like she was fighting herself to bite her tongue. She thought she would be a raging inferno by the end but once Kat actually gave them what they had actually been asking for. A match. Cheryl had gone ahead and picked things out for them that it made it seem like Amber wasn’t needed but fuck it, she might as well speak since people wanted to hear her talk.

She quickly took the mic from Cheryl to make sure that Cheryl didn’t stop her before she let everyone in the ring have it. “My turn. Listening to all of you made me think I was ending up at a funeral. You three acted like I murdered your pet. Is there a team mascot named SWAT you keep at the litter at home? But before we go further off shout out to my elegant wordsmith of a bestie here. Cheryl! The best Bombshell a Rumbling Rocket could ask for!” Amber would raise Cheryl’s arm and start chanting her name. It got some reactions and a few cheers before Amber let the noise quiet down and speak again. “Now onto Tracy! If you wanted to shut us up so bad you could have done us all a favor and skipped this and just went to the match. Honestly I didn’t need to hear you talk you look like a 10 but have the voice of a 2. My advice let some honey sit on your throat you’re too young to have such awful vocals. Furthermore why should we care what the other champions do? I used them as an example of the state our company is in. I mean the fact that you can shit on a bunch of the other champs just because I was critical of you says a lot about how things are going. Aurora! One I need your hair tips because that look you got going on? Cute, dig it, we should share notes. But can you talk more? You let Tracy do the talking aren’t you the smart one? Are you not confident because I can help with confidence after we beat you guys I love helping shy girls come out their shells. Now Super Kitty Katherine kickbutt! I don’t know what my talks with Robin have to do with this. The lady is a businesswoman she knows a thing or two shout turning a profit and Cheryl this is on you too for giving me the looks every time I talk to her. She’s been successful in everything she’s done so how can I ignore her? It’s not so easy for everyone to get the right kind of attention. You must think I’m crazy to get help from her don’t you? You sit here looking at me with pity and sadness about how much my words hurt your feelings. When we came to you for a challenge our praise was real, we were really looking forward to a match with you three. We fantasized about it endlessly, that speech you heard when we came out? We planned that for you guys because we considered the chance to be awesome. That was a year ago and it was wasted, since then everything is our fault. Well of course you didn’t get your title shot you have to answer the open challenge. Oh you did? Well why didn’t you answer another open challenge? You don’t scout the entrance ramp 24/7 to make sure you get there first? Well then I guess you don’t want it bad enough. If the Punchers were really someone the Cats would have jumped at the chance to fight them. They’re not that good or the good teams would wrestle them more. ” Amber stopped speaking for a moment to allow herself a moment of silence. Anger boiling in her just remembering it all. She needed to finish this and now sound like an angry child.

“That’s the punches we’ve had to deal with for over a year. Some of it even longer. That and more. You’re upset about slander like my feelings are fake. That I was making things up just to get attention. While you sit here and feel bad about the small minority that dislike you I have to deal with an actual vocal amount of dislike before I ever stepped out of line. I wasn’t saying that because I hate you guys I was saying it because I was hurt by the silence. The feeling that I meant so little to the tag team world that we extended the challenge you guys could be thrown away and forgotten about so easily. If any other team came out before us even if it was stopped like it was for us I seriously doubt that you would have let that be the end of it. No, the Super Kitty would have apologized for the mix up and given the team that came out first a chance to do things over! Then both teams would shake hands and have an awesome match because that’s the heroes they are!” Amber said but her voice was breaking slightly. “But not us! No, we weren't worth a damn to anyone! As soon as we were off that stage we were forgotten! No do overs for losers we would have stomped them anyway! We already heard Tracy say as much. Instead we only got our do over after the Cats had another epic title defense, a year after mind you and because I said some things. You guys aren’t here for us. You’re here for me! You barely mentioned Cheryl because she’s just a sideshow for you guys. The tag along for when you beat mean old slandering Amber right? It’s not because you think we deserve this chance for answering the open challenge, it's because you want to shut me up. Just like Robin told me you would.” Amber was more sad than angry. Doing her best to hold it together so she could finish. “I listen to her because she was the first person to tell me like it is. But also the first person to offer solutions about it. I owed her that much for her honesty. I’m not stupid. I know she was trying to get me to do something crazy but that didn’t mean her words were wrong. I meant every word I said and apologize for none of them. If that’s still slander maybe I don’t understand the word very well but I’m past the point of caring. Maybe maybe there is more to this situation but that doesn’t do me any good when people can make their assumptions about it and what it says about us because when a challenger makes a challenge and gets ignored she looks like an absolute fool with nothing to show for it. Even beating us would have been more merciful than the nothing we got. This is our dream. O-U-R Dream! If it took getting on the air to insult you guys to get this match then I own it. Sorry Cheryl I know this isn’t how we imagined things, you deserve a better friend. One who doesn’t drag you down because she’s sick of it all. But I promise you this. When we win this match no one will ever forget your name because I’m going to scream it every time our hands are raised, this isn’t Amber vs the Cats this is the Pom Pom Punchers taking what they’ve wanted since they got here! So you heard us take your offer again. The question is will we actually get a match this time or not? I don’t want this one being stopped too.”

[winner3]

Both Cheryl and Amber had been holding onto these feelings for some time. The atmosphere and tension in the arena remained heavy as they both aired their grievances in full detail! All 5 ladies in the ring bore their hearts to each other and to the fans watching in the arena and worldwide!

Amber was visibly trying to keep it together! Tracy seemed to be trying to do the same! The champs kept their eyes trained on The Punchers. Each of them reacted visibly as Cheryl and Amber stated their case for the respect and the championship opportunities that they had more than deserved by this point! A pause and crowd reactions followed The Puncher's promo. Tracy's balled fist trembled as she looked into Amber's eyes. Her breathing was unsteady, but slowly she found her composure. Slowly it began to set it. As malicious as she thought these challengers were, it was finally occurring to The Circus Cat. Amber and Cheryl were only doing what they felt they needed to in order to create opportunities for themselves individually and as a team. It'd be easy to face them head-on and butt heads with them like any other adversary. But now it wasn't so simple. Slowly, but surely, Tracy began to empathize. And Kat and Aurora could tell.

Aurora would grab hold of Tracy's hand and then place a hand on the redhead's shoulder in an act of comfort. Kat would look to The Punchers and nod slightly. The Super Kitty wore a contemplative expression on her face. It was clear that she was heavily contemplating Amber's and Cheryl's words.

Aurora had comforted Tracy. But she found the chance to step up.

"Thank you, Amber and Cheryl. For your honesty, for the hair compliments.....it is quite a bit of work to maintain" Aurora would push her afro puff up a bit with her free hand and smile.

"I'll try to speak up a bit and acknowledge you both as thanks. I assure you, I'm fairly confident. Even now, as we have it out like this and get to know each other a bit better, I feel proud and confident as a champion. And it's because I feel that way that I speak for all three of us when I say that we accept your challenge for a match for the LAW World Tag Team Championships!" The fans in attendance would cheer.

"We've received your feelings. We understand them. Each of us has faced challenges on way to this company, and on our way to the top once we signed with LAW. But this isn't about our story. This is about making sure that everyone the world over knows that you two are every bit as deserving and as capable as challengers as we are as champions. So I say again, with emphasis! We Accept!"

"Yeah....yeah, you'll get your match, ladies." Kat started off by answering the final question that was posed.

"You don't have to shake my hand, even though I've offered. You'll get the exact match you want. Stipulations and the pair of SWAT Cats you want, just as we promised...."

"You know...maybe...maybe we've gotten too comfortable as champions at this company. All three of us are so fixated on putting this tag division and this company on the map. LAW started off based out of Japan, right? And now, it's international. It's broadcast all around the world. We're in arenas all around the world. This company has really come up. And Trace, Rora, and I- we'd like to think that as the inaugural tag champs, we're a huge part of what brought this company to a brighter tomorrow." Kat paused here as some fans cheered but she moved on quickly.

"But it's not brighter for everyone, is it? Not bright enough, to say the least, as you guys proved. We had a lot of responsibilities to live up to as champions. We started the open challenges but DeFranco tasked us with defending against everyone that answered it at Fight The LAW." Hart turned her head to the side slightly before returning her attention to the challengers.

"You guys were the very first to answer that challenge. You could argue that The Pom Pom Punchers wanted that match more than anybody and you wouldn't be wrong. You guys absolutely got the short end of the stick."

"Now, I could make excuses. I could be like some of the other champions and say that we can't be everywhere at once. I could say that "everyone wants a piece of the champs, wait your turn, get in line." But The SWAT Cats aren't paper champions. Many people have called us heroes and we intend to live up to that. And heroes don't make excuses."

"Cheryl Williams, Amber Skye, it might not mean a dang thing to you, two. But I want to apologize. Me, personally. If you wanna throw someone under the bus for what happened at Fight The LAW, then you throw me. I'm the one that got hurt in my match against Picofalena. I knew I wasn't medically cleared. The doctors told me to my face but I still came out here. I didn't even tell Tracy or Aurora."

"But I came out here of my own free will anyways because I wanted us to make good on our promise to do these open challenges until we couldn't do them anymore. We promised the fans- we promised everyone that we would showcase the division and ourselves by throwing ourselves at any qualified team that was willing to walk through the curtains and take us on for these belts. And as long as I can move even a single bone in my body, I will do whatever I can to make good on our promise as champions- to be the role models and heroes these people believe in. To be model champions that aspiring teams like you guys could chase and measure up to."

"I'm sure you don't want to hear my excuses, much less my apology, but for what it's worth, Amber.... Cheryl....I'm sorry. What DeFranco did was meant to punish me, and I deserve it. I was trying to get out of a match with The Pom Pom Punchers, much less make you ladies feel ignored."

"I get it now. Where Amber's been coming from. Why Cheryl feels compelled to jump through hoop after hoop to grab these, no matter who might be holding them." She looked down at the championship belt she held in her hand.

"The SWAT Cats will give you your match. And win, lose, or draw, we'll put on a barn burner of a match! And if you aren't satisfied when it's all said and done, if you wanna wrestle us again after, we don't have a no do-overs policy. If you want to continue trying to prove yourselves worthy of being called the best by knocking off the best! If you wanna be able to call yourselves the very best tag team in modern wrestling today, then we'll keep wrestling you guys! Over and over again. Match after match. Until someday....we come to an understanding and learn to appreciate and respect one another as wrestlers...and as tag teams..."

"And I think The SWAT Cats can start showing our respect for worthy challengers like The Pom Pom Punchers by flipping the script a little bit."

"Let us be the ones to challenge you. WE- all three of us, want the match. And we respect you- we respect your drive and all the work you've put in enough to want to prove ourselves to you worthy champions."

"Cheryl and Amber, will you take The SWAT Cats Tag Team Open Challenge? Please?" She finished by looking across the ring to The Punchers expectantly, hoping and praying that her empathy reached them and that the good intentions of The SWAT Cats reached them.

[Fairy Dragon]

Cheryl was a little apprehensive when Amber took the mic from her, not helped by Amber's opening choice of words. She gave her a look to remind her that they needed to do this right and it seemed from there Amber got the message. Whether because of her or because she had too much on her mind Amber's words were slightly antagonistic but for the most part her friend simply expressed all of the same things she knew Amber had been keeping from everyone but Cheryl. Her hidden anger and the resentment that had been built from how they had been perceived. the two had taken up a cheer leading look to show respect to where they started, which turned against them at times even now. It was clear that for them the increased tag team boon hadn't been as thrilling for them as it had for the Cats and it seemed they all understood it. While she expected Aurora and Kat to be more sympathetic Tracy's somber look was a show that her words had gotten to them somehow, the more Amber explained herself the more everyone knew they weren't looking at just some trash talker. "You don't owe me an apology, I do try to make sure you don't go too far but I'm not your keeper. I'd never want you to not be yourself and that loud mouth is apart of the awesome deal I got on a friend for life." Cheryl said, pulling Amber close in for a side hug. She didn't want to get too mopey when they were on such a big platform. Cheryl would look to the Cats when they were done, waiting for the judgement of the three which came out better than they expected. What she thought might turn ugly if something was taken the wrong way and a fist was thrown showed that the Swat Cats were trying to understand the Punchers perspective. Aurora started it all off but Kat tried to sum everything up and even apologized on everyone's behalf for the incident that really started this. Cheryl looked at Amber as Kat was finishing up, making it clear that the offer was on the table and that they were asking them to take the match. It was everything they could have asked for.

"I think that unpacked everything, don't you Amber?" Cheryl asked, before once again taking the mic so everyone could hear what she said next. "Respect is a tough thing to earn and sometimes even tougher to keep. We know that, we knew that when we signed our first contract. Every time we start off underestimated and every time we start to gain a little respect we end up getting moved to a bigger place. Here, it was even harder. More eyes are on us now than in some of our old places combined. No matter who we win over, we have someone out there who's not feeling us. When we felt it was coming from people like you three I think it led to some tension that was better off avoided. But let me be the first to say that we never stopped respecting you guys and we accept your apology. True we think we are the best tag team that isn't because we don't think you're worthy of them. In fact if we could name any team we would like to beat to win those belts what better start to the best tag team reign in history could there be than being the ones who beat the SWAT Cats for them?" Cheryl asked pointing at the tag belts first, then to the Cats one by one. "I can't think of anyone, but I do selfishly admit I want to be the face of tag team wrestling. I know it's kinda mean to say because so many good teams exist but it's true! So we accept and we will discuss the match we want. Back when we first challenged you, we planned to take on the two healthy Cats. Since all of you should be healthy when we finally do this thing we want the legal team that won the titles in Kat and Tracy! But we want Aurora too so whenever we meet again, make sure she's ready for the rematch because we want all the smoke and every combination you can throw at us!" Cheryl said to a loud applause from the crowd. Cheryl would turn back to Amber and hand the mic off to her. "Anything you want to say?" She would ask, trusting her friend to finish things for them.

[Taskmaster12]

Cynicism had set into Amber Skye’s mind for some time now. It was that growing flaw that Robin poked at to get her on her show to insult the Punchers and it had been what had shaped much of her actions for close to a year now. She only expected her words to cause more trouble for them somehow and end up in a fight. Instead it seemed that despite her doubts something they said got through it all and hit some place that no one expected. Amber didn’t even want this face to face she wanted the title shot and didn’t think much on how this would go. To say it blew her expectations would have not done the surprise on her face justice as everything seemed to be going even better than the two could have asked for. Amber looked at Cheryl to process if this was really happening but after what seemed like a sincere apology at the hands of the SWAT Cats followed by one more plea for them to take the open challenge. When Cheryl said her peace Amber was still struggling to think of the words that felt right for this moment. This was the moment they were looking for since they answered it the first time. Now being gift wrapped to them after it was denied the last time. All Amber could do was put a smile on her face before she took the mic to answer it. “Of course I’ll fight Kat and Tracy. I can’t ruin Aurora’s hair until after she tells me how she gets it like that! All joking aside ladies I’m really glad this is all off my chest. I can hold in tone but it was going to come out in either words or fists and bad juju like that has no place in a cheerleaders heart or her fists. We of course will take the match. Put the two of you through some of the most grueling tag team action you’ve ever seen and when the best team wins the Punchers will have no regrets to worry about and we will never look back!”

[winner3]

And just like that, the air was cleared. When this interview started, the fear that we had a full-on meltdown on our hands was all too real. But somehow, some way, the two top tag teams were able to see eye to eye. Amber and Tracy had certainly gone into this with itchy trigger fingers and high emotions. As things began to wind down, however, as an understanding was reached, Tracy had finally been able to look Amber and Cheryl in the eyes.

When Amber commented on Aurora's hair, Aurora propped up her afro puff with a silly gesture. Kat crossed her arms under her large bust and have The Punchers an assuring nod. The luchadora trio was finally able to smile!

"This whole time, I was worried things would get personal, heh..." Tracy began.

"But you guys are actually pretty cool, huh? You've come a long way, just like us." Tracy would step forward and extend a hand to Skye.

"If you want us, you got us! Let's tear the roof down!"

Similarly, Kat would extend a hand to Cheryl.

"Any event, any arena, any pay-per-view, you name it. Kat and Tracy representing The SWAT Cats versus Cheryl William and Amber Skye - The Pom Pom Punchers for the LAW World Tag Team Championships!" Hart would roar! Fans throughout the arena would cheer wildly as the declaration was made!

"I'll share my hair care tips with you sometime. Maybe I'll share some secrets with you in exchange for a match later down the road~" The Galaxy Cat would tease with a wink.

Kat would hand the golden belt in her free hand off to Aurora. If and when The Punchers shook on it, the match would be finalized and the next chapter in The SWAT Cats Tag Team Open Challenge would be set to begin on Cheryl's and Amber's terms! At a time and place, and with stipulations of their choosing!