Falcon was a heavyweight (formerly middleweight) robot built by Team Whyachi, which competed in BattleBots World Championship IV, as well as several events in the mid-to-late 2000s.
Originally a middleweight, Falcon first fought at the 2004 NPC Charity Open. The robot was metallic in color, invertible and equipped with a spinning drum. It performed well in competition, finishing runner-up at the NPC Charity Open, and the following year's R3: Rochester Robot Rampage. It was a two-time BattleBots IQ High School Division Champion in 2004 and 2005 representing Abbotsford High School, where it was subsequently retired from BBIQ events due to a rule where robots which won multiple titles were omitted from future competitions.[1]
Falcon returned with Clint and Jake Ewert for the 2009 Collegiate Championship, representing UW-Stout under the Team Blue Devil name. Here, it achieved its strongest run at any BattleBots tournament, emerging as the overall Collegiate Champion with an undefeated 5-0 streak.[2][3] Following this, the middleweight Falcon was retired, but kept by Team Whyachi for display at annual Mecha Mayhem events alongside the superheavyweight Son of Whyachi. Another smaller version of Falcon debuted in BattleBots IQ 2005 as Falcon15 where the number in its name stood for its weight - 15lbs. Falcon15 won all five of its fights to become the inaugural BattleBots IQ 15lb champion.
As BattleBots returned in 2015 on ABC, Team Whyachi applied with a heavyweight version of the single drum spinner design which won both BattleBots IQ events, but according to Dick Stuplich, it was not selected for unconfirmed reasons.[4]

Falcon during World Championship IV hero shots.
For the 2019 season, Falcon finally returned as a 250lb robot accompanied by a minibot named Weasel, likely named after the nickname given to Reese Ewert. Falcon was taller than before and armed with two spinning drums rather than one, both powered by brushless motors. The bot itself was densely built and also invertible, as its top wheels were powered separately to its bottom wheels. Its drums were shaped in such a way that the teeth would interlock with the gaps between each front fork, increasing the chance of bite on an opponent. Despite being over twice the weight of the 120lb robot, the 250lb Falcon was actually a smaller robot overall. However, Falcon did not live up to expectations and finished 1-2 in the regular season, failing to make the tournament bracket. The team put this down to Falcon being an experimental design, according to their 2019 Reddit AMA.[5]
Falcon did not return after the 2019 competition as the Ewert family prioritized Hydra and Reese Ewert moved on to captain their newest bot, Fusion. Though it has never officially been announced as retired, Team Whyachi's website lists the bot as "inactive" alongside their BattleBots entrants, live event bots and reboot entry Warrior Clan.[6] The team briefly brought Son of Whyachi back for BattleBots: Bounty Hunters driven by Jake Ewert, but it lost its crown to Gigabyte.
Both the middleweight and heavyweight versions of Falcon reside within the Team Whyachi workshop, as shown by Reese Ewert in an April 2022 blog from Team Skorpios.[7]
Robot History[]
BattleBots IQ 2004[] |
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Falcon vs. ? ![]() Falcon approaches its opponent. |
Falcon vs. Defenestrator ![]() Defenestrator drives over Falcon. |
Falcon vs. E2V2 ![]() Falcon throws E2V2 through the air. |
Falcon vs. Hell Raiser ![]() Falcon takes on Hell Raiser. |
Falcon vs. Little Yellow Jacket ![]() Falcon corners Little Yellow Jacket. |
Falcon vs. Blind Date ![]() Falcon takes on Blind Date. |
Falcon vs. Titan 2 ![]() Falcon tears a wheel from its opponent. |
2004 NPC Charity Open[] |
Falconizer vs. Swamp Thing Falconizer's first match was against Hardcore Robotics and Swamp Thing.![]() Falconizer kicks Swamp Thing right side up. ![]() Falconizer kicks the rear of Swamp Thing in mid-air. ![]() Falconizer kicks Swamp thing into the air. ![]() Falconizer strikes the wheel of Swamp Thing as it runs past. |
Falconizer vs. SubZero ![]() Falconizer gets popped upwards by SubZero. |
Falconizer vs. Papercut ![]() Falconizer kicks Papercut onto its back. ![]() Falconizer pops Papercut into the air. |
Falconizer vs. Floor Jack ![]() Falconizer tears apart Floor Jack's wedge and rips its internals out. ![]() Falconizer kicks Floor Jack onto its back. Floor Jack tapped out and Falconizer was declared the winner by knockout. |
Falconizer vs. SABotage Next up for Falconizer was a former Comedy Central BattleBots competitor in SABotage.![]() Falconizer kicks SABotage back onto its wheels ![]() Falconizer tosses SABotage onto its back. ![]() SABotage gets tossed by Falconizer's spinning drum. ![]() Falconizer kicks SABotage back onto its back. |
Falconizer vs. SubZero This win put Falconizer to the next round, where it faced SubZero again. When the match began, Falcon pivoted left and back in its square before approaching its opponent at the center of the arena, where they clashed heads, leading to Falcon drawing first blood by catching the tip of the flipper with its drum, kicking SubZero up and away. Falcon approached again to follow up, but hit a floor seam in the process, leading to SubZero running into the drum and popping itself upwards. After scoring a minor hit to the left wheelguard, Falcon tried to turn towards SubZero as the latter backed away, struggling to maneuver into position until SubZero drove towards its front and fired its flipper right into the drum. However, the flip was unsuccessful, and the force of Falcon's drum spinner ripped off the tip of the flipper and caused the flipper itself to get jammed in the up position. To capitalize, Falcon rushed forward and struck the left wheel guard of its opponent, tossing SubZero onto its back. After SubZero self-righted, Falcon exposed its left side to its opponent. However, with the tip of its flipper ripped off, SubZero was unable to capitalize, and it fired a dud instead. After moving away, Falcon turned and charged into SubZero's front, popping it upwards once before kicking it again, this time up and on top of its back. After reverse pivoting to the left towards the red starting square and shaking its opponent off its back, Falcon advanced towards a reversing SubZero at the center and struck the right wheelguard, popping it upwards and spinning an armor plate counterclockwise before hitting its opponent again as it landed, chucking the armor plate straight up in the air. Falcon followed up by targeting the left front armor plates and tossing SubZero into the air once more, before striking the left wheelguard and popping it upwards again as the latter reversed past. After several seconds of both bots trying to reset, Falcon suddenly got rushed into the right side by SubZero, which tried to shunt the drum spinner despite having no ground game tools left for leverage. After SubZero retreated, Falcon crab walked to the center due to traction trouble with its left side, where SubZero approached it again. In response, Falcon lunged forward into SubZero's left front armor plates, popping its opponent upwards while also chipping away small chunks into the air which rained down from above. After a brief standoff, Falcon retreated to an area near the red square to reset, before charging towards SubZero at the center and dishing out a huge blow to the left front armor plates before following up with two more hits to the right wheel, kicking it into the air and almost tipping it upside down, while also disabling SubZero's right wheel in the process. With both bots still in close proximity, SubZero drove right into Falcon's drum, leading to Falcon delivering major hits to the left front armor plates and the left wheel as it sent the flipper bot spinning in the air. After taking a minor tap from SubZero while spending several seconds backing away and repositioning itself, Falcon moved in and dished out another two hits to the left front and the underside, popping SubZero upwards yet again. Falcon then followed up by pivoting 270 degrees to the left and launching two more kicks, one to the right front armor plate that popped it upwards and one to the right wheel that sent it right over Falcon's top. By this point, SubZero had stopped moving, but Falcon did not relent. After briefly backing into the left side of its opponent, Falcon turned around and struck the left wheel guard, ripping off the guard's armor plate. Falcon then moved to the rear and popped SubZero up with one hit, followed by another that pulled it on top of Falcon. Falcon proceeded to carry SubZero in reverse to the center of the arena before Team XD tapped out, giving Falcon the win by KO. |
Falconizer vs. Z.I.P. Falconizer advanced to the loser's finals, where it faced Z.I.P..![]() Falconizer kicks Z.I.P. onto its back. ![]() Falconizer spins Z.I.P. in the air. ![]() Falconizer grinds into Z.I.P's rear ![]() Falconizer charges into and reverse-launches Z.I.P. into the air. ![]() Falconizer tosses Z.I.P. into the wall. ![]() Falcon grinds into Z.I.P.'s rear. |
Falconizer vs. Devil's Plunger ![]() Falconizer kick Devil's Plunger in the air and onto its back. ![]() Falconizer kicks Devil's Plunger into the air and back upright. ![]() Falconizer gets scooped up by Devil's Plunger before being shoved into the wall. ![]() An inverted Falconizer gets hit on the underside by the pulverizer. ![]() |
BattleBots IQ 2005[] |
Falcon vs. Nitro Narcosis Falcon entered the 2005 BattleBots IQ event as the defending championship of the Large Class. Its first opponent was Nitro Narcosis, which it defeated. |
Falcon vs. Titanium Knight Next up for Falcon was Titanium Knight. Falcon won this fight too, and moved on to Round 3. |
Falcon vs. Touch of Death ![]() Falcon tears a wheel from Touch of Death. ![]() Touch of Death is attacked in the corner. |
Falcon vs. Mass Destruction Falcon continued in the bracket, next taking on and getting the better of Mass Destruction. |
Falcon vs. Green Wave Falcon now took on Green Wave, but lost and fell into the loser's bracket. |
Falcon vs. Titan 3 Falcon's first loser's bracket opponent was Titan 3, where it returned to winning ways. |
Falcon vs. Titanium Knight Next up for Falcon was Titanium Knight in a rematch from earlier in the winner's bracket. It won this fight also and advanced to the finals. |
Falcon vs. E2V2 As the winner of the loser's bracket, Falcon took on the as-yet unbeaten E2V2 - another robot from Team Titanium Knights. However, Falcon defeated E2V2 and ultimately defended its BattleBots IQ middleweight title. |
R3: Rochester Robot Rampage 2005[] |
Falcon vs. Alph Falcon's first match was against Alph.Falcon sends Alph flying. |
Falcon vs. Mr. Chuckalot ![]() Falcon rips off Mr. Chuckalot's right fork. ![]() Falcon gets its drum under Mr. Chuckalot. ![]() Falcon kicks Mr. Chuckalot onto its back. |
Falcon vs. SubZero When the match began, Falcon moved to the center of the arena and started to deliver the first blows to SubZero. However, SubZero soon got under from the side and flipped it 3 consecutive times, the last one ending with Falcon upside down.![]() Falcon gets flipped by SubZero. ![]() Falcon on top of the rear of SubZero. ![]() Falcon kicks itself back upright. ![]() Falcon delivers the killing blow to SubZero. Falcon continued to chew on SubZero's carcass until Team XD tapped out. |
Falcon vs. Green Wave This put Falcon in the semi-finals where it faced Green Wave, an opponent it previously faced in the BattleBots IQ event earlier that year.![]() Falcon delivers the first exchange. ![]() Falcon gets kicked in the rear by an unstable Green Wave. |
Falcon vs. SubZero Falcon was now in the Loser's Bracket finals where it fought a rematch against SubZero. During the Green Wave fight, Falcon had lost the use of its drum, meaning it was going in with just its wedge skirts and front forks. However, it won this fight, and advanced to the middleweight finals where it faced Green Wave once again. |
Falcon vs. Green Wave For this match, all three of its hinged skirts were removed and replaced with a thick, static wedge, with the intent of playing a defensive game. When the match began, Falcon moved outside of its square cautiously and seemingly got stuck on some debris.![]() Falcon takes a glancing blow from Green Wave. ![]() Falcon gets pushed by Green Wave. ![]() Falcon puts Green Wave into a pushing battle. ![]() Falcon takes a big shot to its right side. ![]() Falcon gets its wedge jarred loose by Green Wave's spinner. |
Cisco Party 2006[] |
Falcon vs. Fork Falcon returned for the private BattleBots event held as part of the 2006 Cisco Party. In the opening round of the bracket, it took on Fork and won convincingly by knockout.![]() Fork becomes stuck on its own plow. Falcon took the win by KO and moved into the semi-finals. |
Falcon vs. Icewave In the final four, Falcon took on Marc DeVidts and Icewave.![]() Icewave strikes Falcon early on. ![]() Falcon's wedge rides up the front of Icewave. Falcon lost this fight by judges' decision and was eliminated at this stage. |
Collegiate Championship 2009[] |
Falcon vs. Pharaoh Under the captaincy of Clint and Jake Ewert, the middleweight Falcon returned once more for the 2009 Collegiate Championship, representing the University of Wisconsin - Stout (UW-Stout) under the Team Blue Devil banner. Clips of the machine being tested in the BattleBox featured at the end of the first and so far only publicly-released episode of the series, though much of Falcon's fights would end up being unaired due to CBS College Sports dropping the Collegiate Championship at the last minute. |
Falcon vs. DracUCLA Following this commanding victory, Falcon next faced DracUCLA, another two-wheeled drum spinner type. When the match began, Falcon charged in as DracUCLA tried to avoid it, but instead they clash drum-to-drum, putting DracUCLA into the barrier connecting the screws before Falcon delivered a shot to the left side, kicking it up, tearing off an armor plate, and flipping it into a corner between the wall and the screws.When DracUCLA turned around, Falcon delivered several shots to the front, one of which causing DracUCLA to stand on its back before knocking it back down. ![]() Falcon briefly upends DracUCLA. ![]() Falcon kicks DracUCLA and pushes it towards the screws. ![]() Falcon tosses DracUCLA, eventually immobilizing it. |
Falcon vs. Cattitude In the third round, Falcon faced its second drum spinner in the form of Cattitude. This proved to be its quickest fight of the competition yet, winning by knockout in 49 seconds.[2] |
Falcon vs. Triton With an as-yet unbeaten streak, Falcon would next face Triton, a modular robot from Triton Robotix. Prior to the fight - the final round of the Winner's Bracket - it was revealed that the effectiveness of Falcon's drum had forced Triton Robotix to make some design changes to their robot; namely by adding a center spike to its plough in order to breach its ground clearance. This was the only aspect of the match to be made available, as clips of Triton Robotix discussing their modifications were shown at the end of the publicly-released Episode 1. |
Falcon vs. Category 5 With Triton going on to win the Loser's Bracket final against Category 5, the final was staged as a rematch between the two machines. |
World Championship IV[] |
Falcon vs. Breaker Box Falcon's televised BattleBots debut came against fellow veteran Jim Smentowski and Breaker Box.![]() Falcon gets pinned against the screws. ![]() Falcon gets flipped upside down after getting slammed into the wall. ![]() Falcon gets pinned against the wall by Breaker Box. |
Falcon vs. Ribbot Next for Falcon was a match against newcomer Ribbot.![]() Falcon gets backflipped on the initial collision. ![]() Falcon takes shots to the side from Ribbot's bar. ![]() Falcon takes more shots to the side from Ribbot's bar. ![]() Falcon gets rammed into the screws by Ribbot. It was revealed Team Whyachi that Clint Ewert wanted Ribbot to enter the fight without the foam frog to avoid it potentially jamming their weapons, but he was overruled. |
Falcon vs. Marvin Falcon's last Fight Night battle came against Hannah Rucker and Marvin, who started this fight backwards in its red square in hopes of tanking a hit to the rear and attack with its own primary weapon.![]() Falcon hits and flips Marvin with its spinning drum. Falcon escaped and spun up both of its drums, delivering another harsh shot to Marvin's back. The minibot continued to torment Marvin, and as Falcon came in for a big hit, Hannah Rucker's machine was overturned. Falcon opted to grind against Marvin with one of its drum spinners, and the upside-down Marvin attempted to spin up again, unbalancing itself but dealing a blow to Falcon's minibot in the closing stages. The judges awarded Falcon a unanimous 3-0 decision. However, Falcon's 1-2 record was not enough to make the Top 32. |
Results[]
FALCONIZER | ||
BattleBots 2004 NPC Charity Open | ||
Middleweight Championship Runner-up (6-2) | ||
Winner's Bracket | vs. Swamp Thing | Won |
Winner's Quarter-Finals | vs. SubZero | Lost |
Loser's Bracket | vs. Papercut | Won |
Loser's Bracket | vs. Floor Jack | Won |
Loser's Bracket | vs. SABotage | Won |
Loser's Semi-Final | vs. SubZero | Won |
Loser's Final | vs. Z.I.P. | Won |
Grand Final | vs. Devil's Plunger | Lost |
FALCON | ||
BattleBots IQ 2004 | ||
High School Large Class Champion | ||
Bracket | vs. Defenestrator | Won |
Bracket | vs. E2V2 | Won |
Bracket | vs. Hell Raiser | Won |
Bracket | vs. Little Yellow Jacket | Won (KO) |
Bracket | vs. Blind Date | Won (JD) |
Final | vs. Titan 2 | Won (KO) |
BattleBots IQ 2005 | ||
High School Large Class Champion | ||
Bracket | vs. Nitro Narcosis | Won |
Bracket | vs. Titanium Knight | Won |
Bracket | vs. Touch of Death | Won |
Bracket | vs. Mass Destruction | Won |
Bracket | vs. Green Wave | Lost |
Bracket | vs. Titan 3 | Won |
Bracket | vs. Titanium Knight | Won |
Final | vs. E2V2 | Won |
R3: Rochester Robot Rampage 2005 | ||
Middleweight Championship Runner-up (4-2) | ||
Winner's Bracket | vs. Alph | Won |
Winner's Quarter-Final | vs. Mr. Chuckalot | Won |
Winner's Semi-Final | vs. SubZero | Won |
Winner's Final | vs. Green Wave | Lost |
Loser's Final | vs. SubZero | Won |
Grand Final | vs. Green Wave | Lost |
BattleBots Cisco Party 2006 | ||
Cisco Party 2006 Semi-Final | ||
Quarter-Final | vs. Fork | Won (KO) |
Semi-Final | vs. Icewave | Lost (JD) |
BattleBots Collegiate Championship 2009 | ||
Collegiate Championship 2009 Champion (5-0) | ||
Winner's Bracket, Round 1 | vs. Pharaoh | Won (KO) |
Winner's Bracket, Round 2 | vs. DracUCLA | Won (JD) |
Winner's Bracket, Round 3 | vs. Cattitude | Won (KO) |
Winner's Bracket, Round 4 | vs. Triton | Won (JD) |
Final | vs. Triton | Won (JD) |
World Championship IV | ||
Fight Nights 1-2 | ||
Fight Night #1 | vs. Breaker Box | Lost (Split JD) |
Fight Night #2 | vs. Ribbot | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night #3 | vs. Marvin | Won (JD) |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 32 (Minimum)
- Losses: 8 (Minimum)
Competition | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
BattleBots IQ 2004 | ? Defenestrator E2V2 Hell Raiser Little Yellow Jacket Blind Date Titan 2 |
None |
2004 NPC Charity Open | Swamp Thing Papercut Floor Jack SABotage SubZero Z.I.P. |
SubZero Devil's Plunger |
BattleBots IQ 2005 | Nitro Narcosis Titanium Knight Touch of Death Mass Destruction Titan 3 Titanium Knight E2V2 |
Green Wave |
Rochester R3 2005 | Alph Mr. Chuck a lot Chaos Toaster (Forfeit) SubZero SubZero |
Green Wave Green Wave |
Cisco Party 2006 | Fork | Icewave |
2009 Collegiate Championship | Pharaoh DracUCLA Cattitude Triton Triton |
None |
World Championship IV | Marvin (Untelevised Undercard Match) |
Breaker Box (Undercard Match) Ribbot (Undercard Match) |
Honors[]
FALCON | ||
BattleBots IQ 2004 | ||
120lb High School Division Champion | ||
BattleBots IQ 2005 | ||
120lb High School Division Champion | ||
Collegiate Championship 2009 | ||
Collegiate Division Champion |
Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]
"The bird bird bird, the bird's the word. Everybody heard of this bird and they are scared. Oh *bird call* It's FALCON!"
"This bot's one of the Whyachis, and destruction comes in threes. First hit, you're shakin'. Second hit, you're breakin'. Third hit, you're dead. There's no time for another rhyme. It's FALCON!"
"This bot is punching the clock, then he's punching you. The only break he's taking is when he's breaking you. You came to the box dressed that way?! Don't you know it's causality Friday? It's FALCON!"
References[]
- ↑ Team Whyachi Rumble 15
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Official BattleBots 2009 Championship Match Results
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Official 2009 Championship match schedule
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/live/5TrFg0eGjU4?feature=share&t=2423
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/d0owod/comment/ezh1d0r/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ http://www.teamwhyachi.com/teambots.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bynbPO_h2c
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.247263074740&type=3
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