The SWAT Cats Tag Team Open Challenge Series - Episode 3

[winner3]

Having scraped by their last couple of defenses, it was clear that the reigning and defending tag team champions were living life on the edge! And in doing so, anticipation rose when management publicly announced that The SWAT Cats would be granted permission to do another Open Challenge tonight!

Anticipation and cheers filled the arena as the announce team declared that the champs' segment was up next!

The SWAT Cats theme song fired up on the stadium speaker! Chants and cheers filled the arena as the trio of feline luchadoras emerged at top of the entrance ramp, championship belts in hand!

The SWAT Cats

Entrance Music

Oooooooo-Oooh Oh-Oh! Oh-Oh!

Oooooooo-Oooh Oh-Oh! Oh-Oh!

As their theme song played, the crowd sang along! Katherine Hart squatted down to lift Aurora into a seated position on one of their biceps and Tracy into a seated position on the other! Aurora and Tracy would hold the tag belts up high as multicolored pyro went off above them to celebrate the champs' entrance! They hit a signature pose, drawing more noise from the live audience! As the fireworks finished up and petered out, Aurora and Tracy dismounted from Katherine's impressive arms.

The champs would make their way down the ramp and into the ring. Tracy would leap onto to ring apron and vault over the ropes.

SWAT Cats chants would start up as they took their place in the center of the ring. While the fans expressed their approval, Katherine peered her upper body through the ropes and consulted the production crew at ringside for a set of mics. Right away, Tracy would call attention to herself by standing in the dead center of the ring and consulting her partners.

"I get to do the thing?" The Circus Cat would ask. Aurora would nod reluctantly. Kat would answer her.

"Go ahead and do the thing."

"We've had some close calls and some close shaves and we ARE STIIIIIIIIILLLL your LAW! World! Tag! Team! Champions!!!!" The crowd said it with her as she made a point of it. Excitement reached a fever pitch as The Circus Cat fired up the crowd!

"Normally, I'd prefer to be a bit more reserved but we are quite proud to still be your reigning and defending champions!" Aurora would follow up! Kat would soon chime in.

"Indeed we are. See, we had a mission statement a few pay-per-views ago. Our debuting pay-per-view as champions, before our segment was hijacked by The Ashfords we made it clear! Our goal was to elevate this tag division and these tag titles!" Kat would say as she lifted one of the two belts high above her head with one hand while gripping her mic with the other.

"We set out to prove that LAW has the best tag team division and the best tag wrestling in the world! There's certainly no shortage of talent on our tag roster. And by proxy, if we could spearhead that division as the forerunners, that would make The SWAT Cats the best tag team in the world of professional wrestling today!"

"So let's recap. The goal in this challenge, which so many teams have answered over the past few months is to give each and every team that's willing a chance to prove that they represent the best tag division there is on this planet! And to give the Cats a chance to prove that they belong at the top of it! Yeah, we've come close to losing these belts on several occasions but you have to remember that that's by design. This Open Challenge Series allows the challengers the chance to set the stipulations! This Open Challenge Series allows the challengers the chance to pick which two out of the three of us they wanna throw down with! We want each and every team that comes at us for these belts to have the very best circumstances they can manifest so that we can have the very best tag titles matches and so that we can continue to prove ourselves as the very best champions!"

"So if you got all that, and you feel like you have it in you to dethrone to Top Cats and become the new top team then grab your partner and come on down so that you can find out what everyone else in the arena and everyone watching at home already knows!" With that, Hart would motion to the crowd and get her partners Tracy, and Aurora would pantomime and enliven them alongside her. The audience would slowly break out into a SWAT Cats chant from their PPV debut!

"SWAT....CATS RULE!"
"SWAT....CATS RULE!"
"SWAT....CATS RULE!"

The fans would chant over and over again! Hyping up the champs and heightening anticipation for the possibility of a team challenging for the titles tonight!

[LowDefinition]

Backstage, Annette and Haruka moved towards the screens to watch the Tag Champions made their speech. Talking to the backstage crew to make sure they got their cue right and consulting when they should cut their music off. "Alright Haruka, don't flub your lines okay? I'm counting on you." Annette said as she pats on Haruka's back. "Ah, yeah sis, don't worry I won't mess up!" Haruka replied in high spirits. The two then made their way near the entrance. Both had a mic in hand.

The chants for the SWAT Cats as the crowd favorite continue on for a good while. It was then interrupted by D.D.T.'s theme, the sisters walked out and emerged at the entrance ramp. The crowd reacted to them in a loud fanfare! Annette then struck her pose beside Haruka, striking their pose together as their theme slowly faded out. Curiously... They're not properly dressed to wrestle when they appear.

D.D.T.

"Miss us LAW Universe?" Annette opened, letting out a grin as the two started to make their way to the ramp. "Yeah, you know SWAT Cats? I hear you've all been doing Open Challenges and everything. I applaud that effort to make the LAW Tag Division the best in the world. But you know what? We want our turn." She continued, pointing to the LAW World Tag Team Championship belt that Kat held.

"You may remember us fighting in the inaugural gauntlet... Which we lost our shot by a fluke." Haruka continued, shuddering to remember that she were rolled up for the count. Promptly causing the crowd to laugh at the mention of that. "It's a fluke okay!? Who's idea is it to make the inaugural tag champ not be crowned in an actual tournament anyway!? Sheesh... Totally unfair." Haruka crossed her arms, looking over to her sister while pouting.

"Ah, well... Unfairness aside, you three showed how deserved you are to be the champion... So far." Annette takes over again as the two made their way at the ringside. "So, back to the point here... You want more challengers right? We want our rightful fair shot at the title as THE tag team that moved money and ratings..." The blonde continued as she climbs the apron and leaned on the ropes. "I say it's a win-win solution here!" She concluded as she let out a friendly smile.

Haruka followed suit and leaned on the corner post, the two sisters now occupying the posts close to the entrance ramp. "But we're not going to have the match right here right now don't we sis?" Haruka asked with a smile, prompting the crowd to let out a disappointed sigh. "No we're not, why would we have the match now and make it a boring match without any special stipulation?" Annette answered before she glanced over to the champions.

"Well...? Curious on what sort of stipulations we got for our match should you accept?" Annette questioned, her eye gestured to look at the skies every few moment as if to hint them on what the stipulation would be. "All you gotta do is shake our hands here." Annette continued as she transferred the mic to her left before lending her right hand for a handshake. Haruka does the same as the two looked at the SWAT Cats confidently

[winner3]

As the SWAT Cats continue to connect with the fans, anticipation to see who would step up grew. And as the ethereal tones of DDT's filled the air in the arena, cheers broke out when it became clear who the next team to step up would be! Each of the champions looked on with distinct expressions of pleasant surprise when they saw Annette and Haruka Tatsumi take their place at the top of the entrance ramp. The energy in the arena was palpable as The Dangerous Double Tatsumi's appeared to answer to call and rise to the challenge!

Both members of the Dangerous Duo emerged with mics in hand. Despite not being dressed to compete, they got right down to business! As Annette addressed the Cats, Tracy began to shadowbox in the ring. Aurora eyed DDT with a raised eyebrow and a look of curiosity. Katherine Hart stood tall between her teammates. She faced Annette and Haruka as the two made their way down the ramp and into the ring!

Haruka lamented the fact that their chance at the gold slipped between their fingers. But thankfully, not all was lost! Anette followed up on her partner's words by asserting that DDT was going to seize the opportunity they felt they were owed. That they would have a clean and fair shot at the tag team gold! All the while, the beautiful blonde Tatsumi paid respects to the presence and the impact The SWAT Cats had on the tag team division and on LAW as a whole!

"Hm?" Tracy would stop her gesturing and shadowboxing for a moment to take notice when Haruka mentioned that they didn't want a match right then and there on the spot.

She didn't care that they weren't dressed to compete but her expression soon changed when she put two and two together and realized that the Tatsumi's came out here to shoot their shot and prepare for the title match to come! Fans would look on with expectation and interest as they waited to see what Annette and Haruka were driving at. A few glances and gazes towards the rafters and the sky above were all DDT needed to communicate what they were after. The Cats soon followed suit. There would be a brief moment where all 5 women looked skyward and the cameras zoomed out! Fans cheered as all became clear! The challengers wanted the belts hung high above the ring for a ladder match with the champs! As excitement and anticipation mounted, after DDT offered the chance to agree on the match by shaking on it, Kat smiled and broke the silence.

"Heh, I love this, I have to say. Moments like this, matches like this, this is what we're living for as tag team champions, guys!" Kat would say to both Annette and Haruka, and the fans.

Her steely blue eyes would meet both members of DDT's. The Super Kitty would look to the crowd before continuing.

"See, I think you guys have a legit point here. You feel you didn't get a fair shake in the gauntlet, so you're gonna grab at the chance for one now. A chance to prove that when you have a level playing field, team to team, woman to woman, you can hang with the best in the division! The best in the world!" Hart raised her voice before bringing the volume back down.

"Can you imagine if a malicious team had won these?" Hart would say before draping her belt over her shoulder. Aurora wore the other belt around her waist. Kat would point to it.

"Heck, forget evil tag teams. Do you think the Wings or the Punchers would be doing these open challenges? Do you guys think an up-and-coming team like DDT would get a chance like this to throw down and lay it all on the line like this?"

"Do you think another champion team would give any and every tag team a chance to further their legacy in tag wrestling at LAW? I wanna say I doubt it." Kat would say as she looked towards Tracy. The Circus Cat would gladly slide in, literally between both teams.

"The SWAT Cats are ready for any and all comers! If you think you can take these gold belts away from us in a ladder match, if ANY team thinks they can win the belts from us in ANY match, it's our job to look them in the eyes and dare them to!"

"So I feel comfortable speaking for all three of us when I saw this, Annette... Haruka..."

"WE! ACCEPT!" The redhead would step forward and grab hold of Haruka's hand and shake it with gusto.

Kat would step up and smile at Annette warmly and confidently before following suit and attempting to shake the older half-sister's hand.

"Guys..." Estrella would interject from a short distance away. She lifted an index finger to gesture as she went on to make her point.

"There is just one small matter we should discuss. A ladder match is all well and good but... Haruka and Annette, I don't think I need to spell this out but there are two challengers and three champions..."

"Which two of us do you want in this ladder match for the Tag Team Titles?" The Galaxy Cat raised a very valid point.

"Oh yeaaaahhhh..." Tracy would say in comedic fashion, drawing a few giggles from the fans and perhaps from their opponents.

"And that's why Aurora's the brains of the team haha." Hart would laugh.

"So DDT! What's it to be? You wanted a fair shot right? Well this is as fair as it possibly could be. You want a ladder match, you got one! But which two SWAT Cats are you gonna be throwing hands and ladders with?"

[LowDefinition]

The girls on the ring exchanges gazes as the crowd looked in anticipation. But Annette and Haruka made it clear on what kind of match they seek. As everyone in the ring looked up towards the rafter. The crowd roared out in cheers right after. The sisters grins confidently as Katherine flaunt that SWAT Cats are the best team in LAW and dared the two to try to take the belt from them. Followed with Tracy slides in between Katherine and the sisters as she stated that SWAT Cats are ready to take on the sisters' challenge for the title and accepted it signalled by her taking Haruka's hand and the two shakes hands. Haruka looked straight onto Tracy with confident grin as the two shakes hands.

Annette glanced over to Haruka and Tracy shaking hands before she took her attention back to Kat. Sighing lightly as she let out a smile and took Kat's hand and shook her hand with respect. The crowd cheered on as the challenge is made official... Until Aurora interjected and raised a point that the Tatsumis forgot to say in their challenge. Which two out of the three Cats that they'll choose.

"Oh right... Good point." Annette let out as she giggled together with Haruka and the crowd. The sisters then looked at each other and put their hand on their chin as Kat asked the two to pick which Cats that they'll choose for the match.

"Give us a moment okay..." Annette said as she approaches Haruka, the two leaned in together and started whispering to each other while exchanging glances onto each of the Cats. The crowd murmuring curiously and theorizing on which Cats the two will choose. Some moments passed before Annette and Haruka nodded at each other before looking towards the Cats.

"Alright, we've made our choices!" Haruka announced, followed by the crowd cheering on them as they did so. "Alright sis! You ready? On 3... 2... 1..." Haruka continued and ends it as she pointed to Kat, Annette pointed to Kat as well. The two paused for a moment until Haruka glanced at Annette to see her pointing to the same Cat. "Eh? Sis!?" Haruka asked with a surprised tone. Prompting a laugh from the crowd at their mishap.

"A--- Ah! My bad! We actually do agree on which of you that we'll take on... No no no, we ain't going to make it a two on one affair, that totally won't be fair considering we do prefer to make our shot as fair as possible." Annette quickly retracted her hand and waved it lightly to dismiss her mistake earlier. Before she then started pointing again, alternating the point between Tracy and Aurora.

"And to accompany Katherine Hart on SWAT Cats' Tag Title defense against us in the ladder match will be..." She let out while waving her arm, alternating between Tracy and Aurora. Creating a tense suspense on what her choice would be... "YOU!" She let out loudly as her pointing stops at Aurora. Her choice seemingly random but the Cats along with the crowd could see the two discussing about it earlier. Although they wouldn't hear what the sisters said in their discussion. Their reasoning for their picks however... Although Kat is a formidable one to beat, after all she was a finalist for Last Woman Standing... Which Haruka could confirm that the competition for it was tough. But to beat the strongest and most formidable out of the Cats for the title would be quite a moment for them. Which was why they considered strongly for Katherine to be included into the match. And that leaves Tracy and Aurora... While Tracy have experience in doing ladder matches, they're more curious on Aurora and to have an opponent that is still quite a mystery to them is quite tempting.

"And there you have it! Danger Double Tatsumi! Versus SWAT Cats! represented by Katherine Hart and Aurora Estrella! In a Ladder Match!" Annette let out as she ducks under the ropes and enters the ring confidently. Haruka followed suit as she raised her hand up high. "Let's hear some noise! We all know you want to see it!" Haruka pumped the crowd up as she approaches Aurora and offered her hand. Annette looked up onto Kat and smiles, brimming with confidence as she raise her hand slightly and offered another handshake to finalize the deal.

[winner3]

The stage was set and the terms were laid out by the Dangerous Double Tatsumis! Thanks to the SWAT Cats open challenge, they'd be given the fair chance they deserved! A chance to show that the gauntlet was indeed a fluke! A chance to show that when they're given their fair tag team match with the champs, that they could hang with them and perhaps even best them! Annette and Haruka stepped up and claimed their chance to show all of LAW and show the whole world that they were a championship-caliber team!

Of course, even champions and contenders make the occasional oversight. And The Galaxy Cat had reminded everyone of theirs. The spirit of this open challenge was to give the challengers all the opportunity they could to put on an amazing match and capture the gold. The SWAT Cats would never dream of defending in a 3 on 2 handicap match. Annette and Haruka had a decision to make. And anticipation around that grew as Kat asked the pair of half-siblings which two SWAT Cats they wanted to wrestle in their ladder match for the tag gold! The Tatsumis convened for a moment. It was silly at first. Aurora and some of the more critical and savvy fans and commentators noted that Annette asking for a moment to deliberate was proof enough that the Tatsumis hadn't fully thought this through.

Regardless, Annette and Haruka played it off rather well! Kat nodded to the brunette when she asked for a moment. The Super Kitty would smile and place her hands on her hips as she stood in the center of the ring. Tracy stood to Kat's right. The Circus Cat resumed hopping in place and shadowboxing. It was clear that was she amped! Finally, Aurora stood by the ropes to Kat's left. The lightweight Galaxy Cat grabbed hold of the middle rope with one hand and turned her torso to stretch. Of course, they were all aware that the match wasn't happening right away. But the excitement was palpable! When Haruka announced that their minds were made up, all three SWAT Cats perked up and faced forward. They gave their challengers their full attention!

"Woooo! Finally! I'm gonna fly all over this arena! Pick me!" Tracy leaned forward and exclaimed. The redhead could barely contain herself while Haruka counted down.

A drum roll might as well have been started as Annette and Haruka slowly motioned and pointed to the champs. But confusion and laughter once again filled the arena when Haruka and Annette moved in unison and pointed to Kat Hart in sync!

"Oh!" Kat tilted her head to the side initially, but the brawny babe quickly perked up resumed her power stance with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips.

"Well, I'm happy to know I'm your favorite! Hehe~" Hart would say with very faint blushing in her cheeks.

"I think they may want you 2 on 1, Kat. I'm sure Tracy's quite jealous." Aurora followed up.

"I AM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Tracy cut in with her fists down by her sides as she protested!

Haruka soon salvaged the situation by explaining that they did have two opponents in mind.

"Hey, no worries!" Hart assured the Tatsumis.

"I'd love to hear your reasoning for your choices. But I'm even more eager to learn what those choices are." Estrella said, expectantly.

As the Double Tatsumis alternated back and forth between Tracy and Aurora, the cat duo smiled. Tracy hopped in place. Aurora interlocked her fingers and continued stretching. Finally, bubbly sisters settled on Aurora Estrella, much to the delight of the fans in attendance!

"Me? I'm quite flattered!" Estrella chuckled before stepping forward. Katherine would put her arm around her tag partner. But she'd soon lean the other way and pull Tracy in to put an arm around her as well to console her.

"Pfffft, they know I'd nab those belts in just a few seconds flat! I'm literally a trained circus acrobat!" Tracy protested.

"That's why they didn't pick youuuuu~" Aurora stuck her tongue out and teased her partner.

"Easy, you two. We're champs, right? Best tag team at LAW. Best tag team in the world! Let's keep carrying ourselves like it, haha."

With everything said and done, the match was finally set!

"DeFranco, the GM himself said that we'd be hosting these open challenges until we couldn't anymore. So I don't think we need to get anything signed or approved. We could do the match right away! Well, we could....if Annette and Haruka here weren't dressed more like they were going to the park instead of wrestling." Hart would say while addressing the crowd.

"I'm kidding, of course. Your match is set. Whenever and wherever you want it, call us out to the ring or let management know you want the match and, we'll be here." She'd say as she seemingly made for the ropes to leave the ring.

"And please, do not hold back! Championship matches are hard to come by. Don't let out amicable attitudes and my cuteness fool you. When the bell rings, we will be sure to give you your greatest test and greatest match yet!" Estrella asserted as she followed Kat.

"Don't forget that we are the champs! You entered the gauntlet because you wanted to prove you were the best tag team, right? Well, it's time to prove it to us and to the world in a match of your own design! You best bring your A-game!" Tracy would say as she collected the tag team belts and held them up high before looking to thread her plump frame between the ropes and dismount to join her teammates!

With the match being set, the crowd was invested! The commentators at ringside would run through both team's match histories and accomplishments in anticipation of this huge ladder match for the LAW World Tag Team Championships!

[LowDefinition]

With the match set officially, Annette and Haruka let out a confident smile. They already discussed their choices backstage, but putting up the act made it feel like they didn't think this through. But that's just the facade that they put to put the SWAT Cats to underestimate them. And also the fact that they're coming in only to declare their challenge instead of straight up setting up the match right here right now. "Whoa there, we know how important a title match is. So rather than just outright having the match right here right now, we're here to put you on notice." Haruka retorted when Kat mentioned how they weren't dressed for the occasion.

"Yeah, because a match for the title deserves bigger stage! Not that we don't like this venue of course, we love you all but let's face it. DDT against SWAT Cats for the title deserves a big venue! Let's say... Budokan? The Sumo Hall!? Any of the big venues in the States!? Let's not forget the European fans... Wembley!?" Annette continued on and goes to the ropes while mentioning prestigious venues for events to a loud cheer. "We'll be coming for that title the next time LAW hits those venues. And of course..." Annette returned her gaze back to the Cats. "Our friendliness aside, Katherine Hart... Aurora Estrella... And let's not forget, Tracy Canon!" The blonde doesn't want to leave out Tracy who the sisters didn't pick to defend the title out of courtesy. "You best bet that we won't hold back on our title match." Annette declared with confidence.

"As we call ourselves the Danger! We'll guarantee you that you'll see the most Dangerous of us on our upcoming match." Haruka took over as she pumps up the crowd for their biggest match in LAW so far. "You got that right Haruka! We're bringing our D-game to that match! As our D stands for Danger!" Annette follows it up before pointing to Haruka. "Thank you Annette-nee, and with that... We'll see you all in our match with the Cats in the upcoming date. So! Let's say it together!" Haruka let out loudly as she raise her free hand up and points to the crowd.

"The finest and most dangerous team of sisters in LAW! Representing Platinum Sky! The technical master Annette Tatsumi!" Haruka let out while she points to Annette at the end as the crowd roared out loudly to Annette in cheers. "And the explosive high flyer Haruka Tatsumi!" Annette followed up as she points to Haruka at the end. "We're D! D! T!" The sisters let out in unison as the crowd spelled out their tag name together. Ending it with claps and fanfare as the two left the ring soon after that... Annette reached out and wrapped Haruka's shoulder with her arm as the two walked closely through the ramp back towards the entrance stage. Closing the segment, the commentary team started to hype out the upcoming tag title match as they wonder what date will the match happen...