03x03 - Everyone Wants to Be the Hotshot

[bunniefuu]

ANNOUNCER: Oh my god!

You can't fight your
robot without a weapon.

And we thought we'd seen it all.

Oh!
Oh, big shot!

Spinners, flippers,
grapplers, flame throwers.

ANNOUNCER: Flames everywhere!

Even drones. [/i]
Oh!

But tonight, for the
very first time ever,

a cannon will make its
way into the Battle Box,

carried by newcomer,
Double Jeopardy.

This is what it's firing.

Five pounds, 190 miles per hour,

that's 4,500 pounds of force.

That's the weight
of a water buffalo

coming at you really fast.

Hey Chris, catch.

CHRIS: Hey, I'm getting
my makeup done over here.

Sorry.

[dramatic music]

Hey, everybody, welcome
to BattleBots Fight Night.

Each week features
heavy metal mayhem,

as a huge lineup of lethal
robots battle it out

for bragging rights, and,
not to brag or anything,

but my friend here,
pretty lethal himself.

UFC star Kenny Florian,

hey, we're friends on
Myspace, by the way.

Hey, Kenny, just
look at this lineup.

We've got another
five fights tonight

as the competition continues.

Each of these teams
will be looking to add

an early win to their
record as they try to prove

that they belong amongst
the BattleBots elite.

The ultimate goal, to be named



First, let's talk
about the main event.

We got 2015 champion, Paul
Ventimiglia and Bite Force,

who's already had an
impressive win this year.

Looking to pick up
another victory against

he's facing off against
Will Bales and HyperShock.

Winner of the 2016
Best Driver Award,

we're execting them to
put on quite a show.

But hey, that's not the
only fun one tonight.

We've got Whiplash, driven by


Matt Vasquez.

He's been racking up the
wins outside of BattleBots,

and he's coming into
this competition

with one of the more innovative
bots we've ever seen.

KENNY: That's right,
Chris, that articulating

disc spinner has a full


meaning that weapon can
hit you with the uppercut,

it can flip you, it can
even come over the top

to land devastating blows.

We've also got a rumble
featuring Double Jeopardy.

For the first time in the
history of BattleBots,

plans to use a projectile
as its primary weapon.

And then there's w*r Hawk,
going up against Axe Backwards,

with its full body, 110=pound
drum spinner, which is one

of the heaviest primary weapons
in the entire competition.

For comparison's sake,
Tombstone's bar spinner

weighs in at a puny 76 pounds.

Suffice to say, we're expecting

that thing to pack
quite a punch.

And now we've got one of the
greatest rivalries in the game.

Two former teammates
turned foes.

MIT versus MIT.

It's Charles Guan and Overhaul

against Jameson
Go with SawBlaze.

Who will win the
battle of the brains?

We're about to find out.

Faruq, my man, take it away.

Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?

It's robot fighting time!

[audience cheering]

This battle is between two

MIT alums that are
no longer chums.

In the red square,
class is in session

and they're about to
teach you a lesson.

It's the professor of
pain and scholar of fame,

get ready to be driven insane,

it's Overhaul!

ANNOUNCER: And there's
Charles Juan of Team Overhaul.

CHRIS: He's been the captain

of the squad since
it formed in 2015,

back when he used to call
Jameson Go a teammate.

In the blue square, kids,

come in for recess, it's
about to be nap time.

We may not be on the playground,

but I do see saw.

It's SawBlaze!

CHRIS: Jamison Go
started Team Sawblaze

because he didn't agree with
Charles's vision for overhaul.

This marks the
first time they'll

meet inside the Battle Box.

[dramatic music]

My strategy against Overhaul
is take it to him straight.

We have a decided advantage
that we have long implements.

So we're easily able
to outreach him,

and we'll get the
advantage very quickly.

We're not gonna let
it go to the judges.

I'm gonna call my KO
right here, right now.

Those three wedges that
he has are super low.

I've sharpened Overhaul's
arms and forks to try

to get under him, so I have to
just stay on top of my game,

maybe calm down a little bit,

not be as impressive
as I usually am.

I think Overhaul has a great
shot at winning this match

if I drive strategically and
I keep SawBlaze under control.

ROBOT: Robots activate.

CHRIS: So we
heard from Jamison

and Charles on their strategies.

What are you looking at, Kenny?

KENNY: Well, we've got
a grappler in Overhaul

taking on that vertical
saw of SawBlaze,

but I don't think that is
what Charles is worried about.

It's that dust pan
in front of SawBlaze.

Charles added a 24-inch
unicorn horn to Overhaul

to try and counter
that reach of SawBlaze.

ROBOT: Red Team, ready.

[audience cheering]

Blue Team, ready.

[audience cheering]

Go!

CHRIS: Jamison didn't
think his former team

could win a championship,
now he faces off

against them to start his quest.

[suspenseful electronic music]

AUDIENCE: Fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight,

fight, fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight!

CHRIS: Let the
bot battle begin!

Both charge forward and meet
in the center of the bat,

no, Overhaul gets thrown
into the screws quickly.

KENNY: SawBlaze
just scooped him up.

CHRIS: Oh, the pulverizer
gets in on the action.

JAMISON: Hold it, hold it.

CHRIS: He wants to trap
him with the hammer, and,

oh, there it is,
he drops the saw!

Oh, he's cuttin' him up!
Back out back out, back out.

CHRIS: Charles Guan
and Overhaul needing

to create some space to
catch a breather here.

Oh, and he shows
SawBlaze his back side.

There you go, buddy.

Oh yeah.

CHRIS: Jamison
Go just bullying.

Woo!

CHRIS: Big sparks, big time.

I didn't know we brought
a welder inside the box.

KENNY: It's that reach of
SawBlaze right now, Chris.

Oh!

My goodness, oh!
Oh!

KENNY: Big shot!

CHRIS: Kenny, those
sparks are impressive,

but it's that giant
scoop on SawBlaze

that just keeps banging Overhaul
into the side of the box.

KENNY: Yeah, he's
beating him up badly.

CHRIS: Look at this, he's
cut through, right through it!

Spits blaze everywhere!

Hey buddy, go
back to school, man!

You need to practice driving!

CHRIS: Wow!

Kenny, Jamison Go as
SawBlaze is a bad, bad man!

KENNY: Wow, he really
is, he cut right through

that crusher of Overhaul,
and he's in trouble.

CHRIS: I don't know if he'
stuck or if his motor's blown,

but Overhaul's
not moving, Kenny!

Here comes the countdown.
Eight!

CHRIS: Jamison Go
enters the Battle Box

and puts his foot
down on the throat

of his former
teammate, Charles Guan!

One, knockout!

CHRIS: Wow.

How about that celebratory dance

for Jamison go and SawBlaze?

An impressive performance.

[team cheering]

KENNY: Well it was
SawBlaze who got off

to an amazing start,
getting underneath Overhaul.

Watch the use of
those extra-wide forks

on the front of the body
to scoop Overhaul up

and slam it into
the side of the box.

That had to rattle
some of its internals.

It was those repeated impacts

that eventually did Overhaul in.

But it was that blade, you
know, Chris, typically we don't

see a blade that is that
potent, that is that dangerous.

That unicorn horn
offered very little

protection from those attacks.

He almost took off the head

of Overhaul right
there, unbelievable.

CHRIS: Alright, let's
take a look at the view

from Bot Cam, and check
out what it's like

to have a saw
dropped on your head.

Hey, hey!

Sparks everywhere, that's crazy!

CHRIS: That's a bot
to be reckoned with.

Jamison, amazing
way to start the day,

excellent fight, took him out
in under what, two minutes?

I don't even know how
much time it lasted.

Not on fire, though.

He's not on fire, that's
'cause his bot took refuge

in the back corner over there,
he's afraid of the fire.

Give me a rundown on
your thought process,

running through this fight,

what were you concerned
about, what was your strategy?

So I put the unicorn
horn on it, as he calls it,

and we decided to try and
gain the angles a little bit.

He's gonna go at us head-on,
we need to go from the sides,

use our reach advantage
to deflect his attacks.

Now I know you guys were
teammates in the past,

how much satisfaction are
you getting from this win?

This is huge satisfaction.

Time to rethink your
strategy, Charles.

INTERVIEWER: Oh!

That's some shade.

[audience cheering]

Charles, you might
need a new strategy.

I love it, we got trash
talking in BattleBots,

I'm okay with It.

Yeah, absolutely,
Jamison's fired up,

and you get the sense
that he doesn't just

want this match, he
wants the whole thing.

No question, that's an
impressive win for his ranking.

Coming up next, the
action continues

with Whiplash
versus Hypothermia.

And don't forget, later
tonight, the main event,

HyperShock and 2016 best
driver award-winner, Will Bales

faces off against 2015 champion

Paul Ventimiglia and Bite Force.

Will the young hot shot
prove that he's no joke?

Or will it be the old guard
that gets the last laugh?

HyperShock, Bite Force, that's
coming up later tonight.

Kenny, I love the stories,
and we've got Hypothermia,

we've got Fuzzy, taught
at Carnegie Mellon,

sold a big-time
business to the point

where he doesn't have to
work for money anymore.

Then he gets to
chill and build bots.

KENNY: He says
he's worked harder

in the last five weeks than
he ever has in his life

to get this bot
ready for BattleBots.

CHRIS: He's gonna
be taking on Whiplash,

and for Jeff Vasquez,

it is truly a family affair,
he's got his two sons involved.

In fact, the 19-year-old Matt
is taking center stage now.

KENNY: Yeah, and he
believes that Matt is one

of the top three drivers
in this whole competition.

And he just might
be right about that.

Let's take a look
at the matchup.

On one side, we've got
Hypothermia, a grappler bot

with 15 inches of reach and
nearly 40 pounds of armor,

and then there's Whiplash,
who's got a huge speed advantage

in this one with its


We should be looking for
Fuzzy to try to contain

Matt's space and use
his grappling arms

to drive Whiplash
around the arena.

Easier said than done, though,

Matt Vasquez is a
hell of a driver,

and that articulating
disc spinner

can attack you from
almost any angle.

Team Whiplash has
been having success

outside of BattleBots recently,

and Jeff has assured
us, confidence is high.

Let's see how confident
he is inside the box.

[audience cheering]

In the red square, if
this bot wrote a book,

it would be called


Hope you know the safe word.

It's Whiplash!

CHRIS: Although
he thinks his son

is one of the best
drivers in the sport,

Jeff also admits that Matt
can barely drive a car.

Luckily, Mom's here to drive
them home later tonight.

In the blue square, this
bot will make you feel like

it's December when it
leads you dismembered.

Bundle up, ooh,

it's Hypothermia!

CHRIS: Fuzzy Mauldin is
a guy that's been competing

in BattleBots since


he was like, I can do that!

KENNY: He absolutely loves
this, wants nothing more

than to win this whole
thing and durability really

is the forefront of how he
approaches his projects.

I mean look at that thing,
it's an absolute brick.

Oh, this is gonna
be a judo fight.

I mean we're both dynamic
robots, we're both invertible.

I'm gonna be doing
my best to get around

to his side, or his back.

And he's gonna be doing his
best to do the same to me,

so it's gonna be a dance.

I feel pretty good
about the matchup.

He's got a lot of speed,
our robot's tough.

Our strategy for this
fight is to bot-rush him

and roll him around the arena.

We're gonna try to
take the fight to him.

[audience cheering]
[dramatic music]

ROBOT: Robots activate.

CHRIS: Each of
these teams is looking

to get that all-important
first win here.

KENNY: That's right,
and both teams believe they

actually have what it takes
to win the entire competition.

So an impressive performance
here can go a long way

in sh**ting them
up the rankings.

[suspenseful electronic music]

AUDIENCE: Fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight,

fight, fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight!

CHRIS: Let the bot
battle begin, and oh boy!

Hypothermia popped a
wheelie off the get-go!

Oh, little grappling,
you're used to that, Kenny!

KENNY: And this
is what he wants,

as a grappler, he wants to try

to suplex Whiplash.
Oh.

Whiplash manages to
get away, though.

Oh, picked up by Whiplash!
Oh!

Hypothermia took a
serious shot there,

Whiplash on the aggressive
got a little smoke there.

Woo!

KENNY: Whiplash is
going after those tires,

Chris, he's trying to attack
the back side, there it is!

There it goes!

CHRIS: I'm gonna
need some whitewalls

off of aisle six, please!

KENNY: Really good driving
from the young Vasquez,

and there's a backhander, wow!

CHRIS: Fuzzy Mauldin
and Hypothermia!

He could be chilling
out if he can't move!

Whiplash still on the
attack, trying to push Fuzzy

and Hypothermia onto the screws,

but somehow, Fuzzy gets away.

KENNY: Whiplash is
showing no mercy right now

and trying to go
after that other tire,

hit him from over the
top, how about that?

Unbelievable driving
here from Matt Vasquez.

Closest thing I've
seen to a pile driver.

CHRIS: Whiplash hasn't
given an inch to Hypothermia

since the opening
moments of this match.

And Matt Vasquez
continues landing

brutal shots on Fuzzy
Mauldin's wounded bot.

KENNY: Whiplash
is hungry right now,

and I don't think
Hypothermia is moving.

This could be it, Whiplash
celebrating, and so they should.

CHRIS: Here
comes the countdown.

Eight, seven.
There's a new kid in town!


Mattie Vasquez

has sent a message to
the rest of the field.

Whiplash is here and
they mean business!

Yeah!

We did it, awesome, awesome!

Yeah!

CHRIS: Hypothermia, DOA,

courtesy of Matt
Vasquez and Whiplash.

Kenny, Hypothermia caught
Whiplash in a grapple early on.

But after that, this was
pretty much a one-sided fight.

KENNY: The sheer
determination of Whiplash,

he stayed on top of his
opponent the entire match,

like a savage, there
goes the tire from there.

Fuzzy was pretty
much in trouble,

then he drives him into the
screws for extra effect.

Hit him from the top as
well, so pretty much,

that was the finishing
blow right there, Chris.

CHRIS: Impressive
driving from Matt Vasquez.

Beautiful, oh!

Kenny, with my family
of four, we usually sit

at the dinner table
and we text one another

and that's how we communicate,
it was nice to see

this family of four doing
group projects so successfully.

You know, for them to
finally be here and to win,

and to win in this
fashion, is amazing to see.

My eyes got a little sweaty
I think when we were talking.

Is that what it was?

Yeah, my eyes, yeah.

It's okay, little buckaroo.

Coming up next,
a rumble that you

definitely won't wanna miss.

But before we get to that,

let's take a closer look
at tonight's main event.

Oh!

CHRIS: Do we have a
changing of the guard?

Last year we had one
of those weapon hits,

when our chain went, it was
a frustrating way to lose.

Now we've rebuilt the
robot, we've improved

all of the armor, it's
really hard to face us.

CHRIS: Amazing
driving by Will Bales.

WILL: Last season, HyperShock
was really good at driving

circles around people, and it
was a lot of fun doing donuts.

Oh!
Oh!

But we keep
losing to ourselves.

We want proof we don't suck.

Our team's style is usually
sort of sleek and professional.

CHRIS: Bite Force is
just bullying Chomp here!

The robot looks purposeful
when it's driving around.

Uh-oh, oh!
Oh!

CHRIS: It got the last throw.

[people shouting]

I think that HyperShock is a
reflection of my personality.

[Will laughing]

I like to be a little
zany and out there.

And I wanna show
that my toy's better

than everyone else's toy.

CHRIS: Trying to
strike early, it pops!

Last season, we
rebuilt Bite Force

to be a vertical
spinning weapon,

cause a lot of damage
to a lot of opponents.

We wanna win for all of
our team and supporters,

and we wanna win the Giant Nut.

There's totally an old guard,
new guard thing going on.

It's time for
something new, bright,

and exciting to take the trip.

So we're gonna be as
aggressive as ever

and destroy some robots.

CHRIS: That'll
be coming up later.

Next, we got five
bots inside the box,

we're just getting
ready for our rumble.

Let's start with the
guy from the U.K.,

Ian Watts and the Four Horsemen.

He's got four bots here,
but he's only using three

right now, because that's
all that could make weight.

That's right, he's
bringing in w*r,

Pestilence, and Butter Cup.

Remember, there's a


and the fourth bot, Famine,

pushed them over that
weight restriction.

So I guess you could
say the Four Horsemen

are down to the
Three Musketeers.

Oh, that's sweet.

And Butter Cup's the wedge,

and the other two
are the spinners.

We've also got Gamma Nine,
they're a blue-collar team,

a bunch of construction
workers, no college degrees,

and they're coming in with
one of the meanest-looking

crushers we've seen
in the competition.

They're ready to show,
they've got brawn and brains.

And speaking of brains,

we also had a team
called Double Jeopardy,

led by the Woolley twins
and their father, Bill.

They are lawyers by day
and bot builders by night.

And they also live by the
motto, and I'm gonna quote

the great philosopher
Eminem, who says,

"You only got one shot, do
not miss your chance to blow."

So this is their one
shot, explain, please.

First of all, this is a
five-pound slug, and yeah,

they only have one shot,
the problem is there's a lot

of bots in there, so, I have
no idea how he's gonna hit

all the bots with one,
the answer is he can't.

But I just wanna
see this thing go,

I wanna see someone get hit
with this thing, just not us.

Let's get inside the box.

[audience cheering]

In the red square,
three bots in the box

shouldn't be allowed, but it is.

It's the Four Horsemen.

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: There are the Four
Horsemen, and by the way,

Butter Cup is being driven

by Ian Watts's


In the blue square, this
bot was built by a diabolical

engineer who put together
parts that'll have you in fear.

Time to unleash
this badass design.

It goes by the name, Gamma Nine!

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: And
there's Gamma Nine.

That pincher on the
front crushes with a

In the green square,
this lawyer's robot

has the strength
of 12 angry men.

All rise for

Double Jeopardy!

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: Kenny, there is the
cannon of Double Jeopardy.

The good news for now, it
is pointed away from us.

So Kenny, this will
be the first time

we're seeing multi
bots this year.

What's the strategy there?

KENNY: Well,
Chris, multi bot teams

thrive on chaos and confusion.

While you're opponent's
looking at one of your bots,

you attack them with the others.

It's like having a bunch of
hyenas nipping at your heels,

and in order to knock
out a multi bot team,

you must disable over


[dramatic music]

ROBOT: Robots activate.

CHRIS: Remember,
Double Jeopardy

has one shot of a
five-pound slug.

We're hearing it could
happen early in the rumble.

[suspenseful electronic music]

CHRIS: Let the
bot rumble begin!

Keep your eye on
Double Jeopardy,

he's got Gamma
Nine in his sights.

KENNY: Now Gamma
Nine, looking to

CHRIS: Oh, Gamma Nine takes

Double Jeopardy into the rails.

KENNY: Oh!

CHRIS: The Four
Horsemen were gonna

stall that Gamma Nine.

KENNY: Now Gamma Nine,

looking to mix it up
with Double Jeopardy.

CHRIS: He's staring down
the barrel of that cannon.

Oh!

CHRIS: He just blew
a shot into Gamma Nine!

This doesn't seem to have to
have stopped Gamma Nine at all.

KENNY: I think it just
made him angry, Chris.

CHRIS: Uh-oh.

Oh, that little spinner rips a
wheel off of Double Jeopardy.

Four Horsemen doing
damage here early.

KENNY: Oh!

Gamma Nine is a tank, Chris.

CHRIS: Oh, and the
Four Horsemen might have

just finished off
Double Jeopardy!

KENNY: Well Double
Jeopardy is in double trouble

right now, it can't move.

CHRIS: And it's safe to say
this is a two-team match now.

It's Gamma Nine versus
the Four Horsemen.

Oh, right in front of it!
Oh!

CHRIS: Oh, he backed up!

KENNY: Gamma Nine's
primary weapon has been MIA,

but he's still pulling those
spinner bots around the box.

CHRIS: Oh, Gamma Nine owning

the middle part of this fight.

Oh, look at this.
Oh!

CHRIS: Hey, hey you
get off my brother!

Get off of him!

Wedge, him, Sam.
I've got him.

CHRIS: Butter Cup,
that little wedge,

has Gamma Nine high center,
and 14-year-old Sam Watts,

look at him come to his family's
rescue here in this fight.

SAM: Oh, you're smoking,
Dad, Dad, you're smoking.

KENNY: Butter Cup
doing everything he can

to keep the pressure
on Gamma Nine.

Gamma Nine racking up
major damage points

throughout the fight,
and it has to be

careful not to burn
out a motor here.

You're not gonna-
I can't turn one way.

CHRIS: Butter Cup winning
some control points here.

But remember, it's those two
spinner bots that need to stay

active if the Four Horsemen
wanna remain in this fight.

w*r barely moving,
Pestilence kind of

in its own party, look at this!

Gamma Nine with the escape move!

KENNY: Oh!

CHRIS: Now it's looking
to take out Pestilence!

Uh oh.

Oh, Gamma Nine with a body
slam, and Pestilence is smoking!

And look at Butter Cup!

That kid is fearless!

KENNY: I think both those
spinners of Four Horsemen

are out of commission
at this point.

They should be counted out.

MAN: I think we're dead.

CHRIS: But Kenny, it looks
like that last collision

might have been it for
Gamma Nine as well.

But with 10 seconds to go,

there won't be enough
time for a count-out.

KENNY: Wow!

CHRIS: Both these teams
will be saved by the bell.

This one is going to the judges.

[buzzer buzzes]

What a great performance by
little 14-year-old Sam Watts,

who throws Butter Cup
to the Four Horsemen.

The only one still moving

in this action-packed,
grossly-contested fight.

KENNY: So, the
decision is now

in the hands of
our three judges.

Derek Young, the former
BattleBots bad boy

of Complete Control,
eSports expert Naomi Kyle,

and Special Effects
guru, Frank Ippolito.

Kenny, break it down for us.

KENNY: Alright,
first off, we've got

to see Double Jeopardy
fire that projectile

directly Into the
face of Gamma Nine.

Scariest T-shirt cannon ever.

But check it out,
that five-pound slug

just bounces right off of
Gamma Nine's front armor.

Then we have the Four
Horsemen, who are aggressive

early and often, ripping
pieces off of Gamma Nine,

as well as disabling
Double Jeopardy for good.

And let's not forget Gamma
Nine, who looked dominant

even without the
use of that pincher,

swatting away those
spinner bots like flies.

But the story of the
fight may have been

that little wedge
bot, Butter Cup,

very effective in
keeping Gamma Nine

high-centered at the
tail end of this fight.

CHRIS: And a crazy
ending to this one.

Gamma Nine finished off the
Four Horsemen with this slam,

but took itself
out in the process.

Either team could
have been counted out,

but both ended up being
saved by the bell.

Which way will the
judges go in this one?

Let's find out.

Ladies and gentlemen, the
results from the judges are in.

We have a split decision.

[audience cheering]

Judge Frank scored the
battle for the Four Horsemen.

Judge Naomi scored the
battle for Gamma Nine.

Judge Derek scored the
battle for the winner,

the Four Horsemen!

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: Kenny, you can
see how big that win was

to Ian Watts and
the Four Horsemen.

MAN: We won one, we won!

KENNY: The young
driver did very well

and the smaller bots
did very well as well.

Coming up next, two of
the top g*ns face off.

Warhawk and Axe Backwards.

Who will take the fight,
who will get chopped?

Our new fight card
format has already

delivered some
exciting matchups.

Minotaur gets shot
three feet in the air!

He's taking a chunk
out of Petunia!

Oh yeah,

End Game's got Shrederator
in the corner, knockout!

Who else do You
wanna take down?

We'll take Tombstone.

Oh, those are fight words.

CHRIS: Each team will
have multiple chances

to step into the Battle Box.

Lose and you've
got another shot.

But that's only if you
can get your bot back up

and ready to go after
each and every fight.

Let's hear from the builders
themselves on what it takes

to make it through this
grueling competition.

Fight card format
changes the game entirely.

It's gone from a single
elimination tournament

to a game of attrition, really.

I mean, My biggest fear
is that we're gonna have

the same problem
every single match,

no matter how easy
or difficult it is.

I mean four fights is a
huge amount of damage.

But that's how you get to better
designs is by breaking them

and fixing them and learning
how they don't break.

The new format this season.

Last year we had one
robot and threw it in.

This time, I've got my game plan

on how to get through
a number of fights.

We've got a dialed machine now,
we're a well-oiled pit crew.

Ah, oh this thing is heavy.

We have four drums,
two sets of forks,

everything you could imagine,

we've basically got
multiple robots.

We're just, we're ready to roll.

Up, way back.

We've been really careful

to bring as many
spares as we can.

We brought our 3-D
printer with us

so we can be printing
parts as we need.

There's another machine
here for everybody to use

we've been taking
advantage of as well.

We are 3-D printing parts
right from our drivetrain.

Our flamethrower's
entirely 3-D printed.

So we're making parts as we go.

Make it pretty clear, we
gotta change that sawblade out.

Red Devil is very complex.

Then we gotta get
here and find out

what's going on with the
lifting mechanism.

Like, titanium plate
on the outside,

and then another
layer of CNC aluminum,

then another layer of
custom 3-D printed plastic.

It's literally custom,
I can't just go buy

anything and put
it in this robot.

We have to make
everything from scrap.

So it's actually
difficult to work on.

That's what we're here for,
that kind of destruction.

But in my opinion, fights
are won in the pits,

not so much in the box.

So you have to be able to
make sure everything works

before you even go into a fight.

Let's do what we do best,
let's make some robots.

Oh!
Oh!

This is our third
season in the BattleBots,

and it feels so good to
be on the winning side.

Yeah!

Before, you fought and you lost,

you know, your robot died
for some stupid reason,

and you're out.

Now, with this, even
the robots that had

horrible first fights
and lost were able

to find out what went
wrong, fix the robots,

and came back for really
strong second fights.

Oh!
Oh!

That's gonna hurt.

It's definitely
a different season,

the way that they're
doing the ranking.

What I did this time that
I'd never done before,

in all the history,
or all of this,

is I actually built two exact
machines that can have parts

inter-swapped in any
way, shape, or form.

And I have multiple weapons,
multiple attachments.

And I actually came
out g*ns a-blazing.

I have every intention
of whipping some bot.

Oh!
Oh my god!

It is gonna be very
tough this season.

It's gonna be a lot of work,

there's gonna be a lot
of maintenance for,

not just for us, for
all the teams involved,

to go all the way through
the ranking rounds,

but you wanna be the
best at what you do,

the World Series, the
Superbowl, Battle Bots.

When you do robotic combat,

you wanna be the Battle
Bots champion, here.

CHRIS: Axe Backwards
and Kurt Durjan,

taking on Warhawk
and Rob Farrow.

Why don't you tell us
about the bots, Kenny?

KENNY: Well, Chris, on
one side, we've got Warhawk,

which has a 40-pound
vertical disc spinner

that gets up to


And then there's Axe Backwards,
a 110-pound drum spinner

that gets up to


in just 1 1/2 seconds.

With all of its hardware and
electronic packed into that

giant cylinder, essentially
the entire bot is a weapon.

I do wonder about those wheels,
though, you have to think

Warhawk will be attacking
them, but Rob Farrow should

be careful in his
approach, because one hit

from Axe Backwards could
leave Warhawk in pieces.

[audience cheering]

In the red square, more
magical than a warlock,

shuts you out like a door lock,

walks on you like the boardwalk,

alright, there's no more talk.

It's Warhawk!

[audience cheering]

KENNY: Rob Farrow
is a former zoologist

and self-taught builder.

He's got over 18 years of
robot combat experience,

and he's ready to step
into the Battle Box

with the best of the best.

In the blue square,
its spinner is deadlier

than a game of Russian roulette,

responsible for more
hacks than the KGB,

it's Axe Backwards!

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: Kurt Durjan grew up

on a farm in Palm City, Florida.

First got interested
in engineering

by racing go-karts
and dirt bikes.

And now he's competing
in his first BattleBots.

Getting a win here would be

a great way to kick
off his rookie season.

I'd like to be all up
in his face right after

the first second is
over, before the lights

even are at full brightness.

Our drum spins up very quickly.

It does weight 110 pounds,
so there's a lot of inertia.

You know, like I said,
anything goes once the box

is locked and three two one, go.

His Achilles' heel is
gonna be the big wheels.

Warhawk has a 40-pound AR steel
spinning disc in the front.

And it should go
around 4,000 RPM.

And that should be able
to knock his wheels off

and put a pretty big dent in it.

[audience cheering]

[suspenseful electronic music]

AUDIENCE: Fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight, fight,

fight, fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight, fight!

CHRIS: Let the
bot battle begin!

Warhawk delivers the
first shot, but uh-oh,

here comes that drum spinner
that's 100 pounds, oh!

Whoa, and now the right wheel!

Or the left wheel!

One of those wheels is loose!

KENNY: That's exactly
what Warhawk wanted, Chris,

ex*cuted his plan perfectly!

CHRIS: Look at Axe Backwards,

spinning like a top out there!

KENNY: Oh!

CHRIS: Warhawk in
complete control early on,

but Axe Backwards
now trying to use

his superior side
to squash Warhawk!

KENNY: Yeah, that
exposed drive chain

is his best bet
to win this fight!

CHRIS: Whoa,
there goes the tire.

Axe Backwards has got
some serious issues.

Woo.

KENNY: Surgical driving
there from Warhawk,

already took off a tire.

CHRIS: Here's the problem,

creating a bot that's
all weapon on two wheels.

Lose one and you're a unicycle.

Oh, little bits and pieces,
Kenny, we better duck.

Whoa, there goes
one of the axes,

it's trying everything, Kenny!

I've seen a lot, Kenny,
but I never thought I'd see

a unicycle drum barrel
throwing axes at my head.

KENNY: I think this
could be over, Chris.

And 10!

CHRIS: What an impressive
showing from Warhawk!

Axe Backwards is back
to the drawing board,

and perhaps even a new
life as a fighter drum

down on Daytona Beach.

One, knockout.

Winner!

CHRIS: And in 90 seconds,
Rob Farrow and Warhawk

totally dismantle Axe Backwards.

CHRIS: Well here's
that start from Warhawk,

with that vertical disc
spinner, getting hits

right off the bat,
attacking that drum spinner

in a frontal as*ault
like he wanted to.

KENNY: Hey, Axe
Backwards wasn't

going down without
a fight, Kenny.

Flailing those axes with intent.

But Warhawk was just too
strong, too superior.

KENNY: There goes the
tire, and once Axe Backwards

lost that tire, he
was in big trouble,

it was all Warhawk
the whole time.

For Kurt Durjan, you know,
he said, he either wanted

to win it all or go down
in dramatic fashion,

well, I think he did just that.

[audience cheering]

Rob Farrow and Warhawk,
a bit understated.

But man, he can do
some damage, huh?

Well listen, the
guy's calm and composed,

he has two PhDs, one in
zoology, another one psychology,

so he knew how to stay
nice and calm out there.

I think that served him
well, if I was gonna fight

Axe Backwards, I would've
been shaking in my boots.

Alright, coming up next,
it is the main event.

And there's Paul Ventimiglia,
back in the pits.

Headphones in, game face on.

And there we have Will
Bales, looking like he's

selling baseball cards
out of his school locker.

You know Will
Bales, the crazy guy

that once lit a
gym floor on fire.

Well, we've got
HyperShock stepping up

to take on the
legend of the sport,

Bite Force.

It's coming your way next.

[laid-back music]
♪ Wow ♪

My name is Bill Bales,

I am 25 years old,
from Miami, Florida.

Our team brand is basically

if the '80s threw up
fluorescent colors.

Everything's super bright,
maxed out, and very aggressive.

We're just trying to
be a cohesive package,

and you could say, oh,
those crazy neon people

and their whole shtick.

We wanted people to
remember HyperShock,

and we want everyone
else to feel bad

that theirs suck
compared to ours.

Everyone wants to show
that they're the hot shot.

CHRIS: HyperShock
versus Bite Force.

Why don't you break down
the bots for us, Kenny?

KENNY: First let's
take a look at Bite Force.

Its 40-pound drum spinner
is 16 inches tip to tip

and gets up to


a conservative weapon when
you compare it to HyperShock,

which has dual disc spinners
that combine for a weight

of 48 pounds and gets up to


That's 35 kilojoules
of kinetic energy.

He has a machine that creates

so much power,
it's just amazing.

On paper, Will Bales should feel

really good about his
chances in this one.

But as Paul Ventimiglia
has proven time and again,

there's no stack for
championship DNA.

We've got Will Bales looking
to start off his year with

a win, but he's got a tough
draw taking on the former champ,

who would like nothing more
than to prove the two and O.

Who's gonna take home the W?

There's only one
way to find out.

Let's go.

Inside the box.

Ladies and gentlemen,

are you ready?

[audience cheering]

Time for tonight's main event.

CHRIS: Kenny, Will
Bales and HyperShock

have stepped up their suit game.

KENNY: Oh, there's
no doubt about that,

they look like a professional

Formula One racing
team, look at that!

CHRIS: And how
about the rake, Kenny?

KENNY: Oh, I love it,
Chris, two years ago,

going up against
Warrior Clan and their

fire-breathing drone, Dragon,
what does Will Bales do?

He goes down to the hardware
store and buys a rake

to swat that thing
out of the air,

and then it worked!

RakeGate was born, and he's
been a fan favorite ever since.

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: Kenny, we saw
Bite Force take care

of Blacksmith in the
opening fight of the season,

he's got high expectations,
this Paul Ventimiglia.

KENNY: Well,
you're talking about

the 2015 BattleBots champ,
and you can see the scars,

the scars of a veteran
bot right there.

That thing has seen some wars.

[audience cheering]

[dramatic music]

In the red square, like
a toaster in the bathtub,

a golf club in a
lightning storm,

this robot will give you
the shock of your life,

it's HyperShock!

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: There's Will Bales.

When he's not competing
in BattleBots,

he works as a medical
design engineer.

So yeah, he's a
really smart guy.

And he's kinda goofy as well.

In the blue square, it's
hungry and ready for gore.

It'll chew you up and
devour you in one giga-bite.

It's every dental
hygienist's worst nightmare.

Bite Force!

[audience cheering]

CHRIS: Getting a good
look at Paul Ventimiglia,

currently works at
a robotics startup

in Palo Alto, California.

In his free time, he mentors

high school students
in robot combat.

As he told us, he eats,
sleeps, and breathes robotics.

Kenny, we're talking about
opposite ends of the spectrum,

you've got Paul
Ventimiglia and Bite Force,

they just seem so organized,

so calculated, so
prepared for anything.

And then you got Will
Bales and HyperShock

and they're emotional,
they're all over the place.

This could be a
whole lot of fun.

I know we can out-drive them.

I think we have a
more powerful weapon.

And I think that combination
will give us the win.

I'm eager to get in there
and see what this can do,

and, you know,

this is a hell of a machine,

and I'm just excited
to see it work.

We're pretty worried
about HyperShock

because their weapon
is very powerful.

They also have
lifting forks that are

pretty sharp and
low to the ground.

The strategy against HyperShock,
the same as everyone else,

is sort of keep the front end
of the robot aimed at them.

We have our offense and defense

all at the front of the robot.

It is really tough to
drive against them,

because their robot's very fast.

If we ever get hit by their
weapon, it's very powerful,

it could do a lot of damage.

[audience cheering]

ROBOT: Robots activate.

[dramatic music]

Did you see that spark?

Red Team, ready.

[audience cheering]

Blue Team, ready.

[audience cheering]

[suspenseful electronic music]

AUDIENCE: Fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight, fight,

fight, fight, fight,
fight, fight, fight, fight!

CHRIS: Let the
bots' main event begin!

Nice move from HyperShock,
trying to get the good position.

KENNY: Oh, hit right there!

CHRIS: Oh, I spoke
too soon, Kenny.

Can HyperShock self-right?

Let's see if Bite
Force, oh my god!

We got guts spilled all
over the Battle Box!

KENNY: Wow, what a hit, Bite
Force so low to the ground.

REFEREE: 10!

CHRIS: Oh, the countdown
has already started!

Will Bales wanting to
play with the big boys,

but Bite Force took one
look at him and said,

get out of my box, little boy!
One, knockout!

KENNY: One hit was all
it took, are you kidding me?

That was awesome.

CHRIS: Wow, look
at the carnage.

And it was a quick hit by Bite
Force that ended this thing.

KENNY: Yeah,
absolutely, I mean these

are two high-energy weapons.

But Bite Force is
so low and stable,

HyperShock just bounces
off this impact.

Woo!
Ah!

KENNY: Out go the guts, all
the internals for HyperShock,

all over the Battle Box.

But if we slow this
down even further,

we can really marvel at the
ingenuity of Bite Force.

Watch how that vertical
spinner connects, one,

two, three times.

The energy dispersion
is just extraordinary.

HyperShock, I'd be sad
to see a beautiful bot

like that just get destroyed.

Whoa, dude, that was so rad!

That's why we built
the new Bite Force,

for that kinda action.

I mean you are
covered in guts.

Their weapon is very powerful.

So when they go out fast
and try and get lucky,

once they dodged us first, I
thought they'd get up to speed,

but we got that one good
hit, so it was really nice.

I mean this was so
slick, would you say

this was probably Bite
Force's perfect bite?

The rumble was
pretty good last year,

but this was pretty satisfying.

Well congratulations,
that was awesome.

Thanks.

CHRIS: I did not
just win the sixth stage

of the Tour de France, this is
what is left from HyperShock.

A quick reenactment, please?

Yeah, ready?

Boom!

There're the guts,
there're the guts.

CHRIS: How impressive
has Bite Force been

so far, a couple of wins?

KENNY: It's all business,
you know, again, it's built

so low to the ground, when
you get these big hits,

it's gonna win a lot
of those exchanges,

and again, this beautiful
bot, HyperShock,

found out what it means
to bump into Bite Force.

CHRIS: But it
was a great night.

Whiplash and the Vasquez family,

of course Jamison and
SawBlaze, just to name a few.

Okay, sorry, this is mine, I
will be taking this with me.

I want that.

We will see you next
time here on BattleBots.

[audience cheering]