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Hardcore Robotics, formerly known as Team Hardcore, are an active team who competed in Seasons 3.0 and 4.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots, as well as every BattleBots World Championship from 2015 until the 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event. The team took a brief hiatus for World Championship VII, but returned to the BattleBox with Mortician in 2023's Proving Ground shows.
Led by Ray Billings, the team's flagship robot Tombstone became a poster-child for BattleBots on ABC and Discovery, finishing runner-up in World Championship I before winning the Giant Nut a year later. As one of the most recognizable robots, Tombstone became one of the first competitors to be made into merchandise, reflected in the HEXBUG remote control range of toys alongside Witch Doctor, as well as becoming part of the Tech4Kids, Push Strike and VEX Robotics lines.
Hardcore Robotics during World Championship VI.
Hardcore Robotics had humble beginnings within BattleBots, debuting middleweight thwackbot Darkness in Season 4.0, the chassis of which bore a strong resemblance to that of their future heavyweights. Despite fighting eight times across two seasons, Darkness only made the TV rounds once, where it lost to the previous season's runner-up El Diablo. Ray Billings also entered The Raven into the final season prior to the show's cancellation, winning its debut fight before losing out to a shell spinner called Major Divot.
Ray Billings later built Tombstone, originally a 340lb superheavyweight robot, and won the NPC Charity Open in 2004. This was accompanied by a separate heavyweight build following a similar design blueprint named Shin Splitter. He also built a middleweight with a similarly designed horizontal bar spinner named The Mortician which fought at the 2007 Java One event, as well as numerous non-BattleBots competitions.
Tombstone has since won the Giant Nut and is currently the only robot not armed with some form of vertical spinning weapon to have done so since World Championship I. It has also earned the Most Destructive Robot award in 2015, finished as a semi-finalist in 2019 and defended its BattleBots: Bounty Hunters title in 2020. Despite the increased competitiveness of the field, Tombstone has remained a force to be reckoned with in recent seasons. This was recognized as Tombstone was invited to compete in BattleBots: Champions I as a former Giant Nut winner, though it lost in the first round to that year's Giant Nut winner, Tantrum.
In September 2022, Ray Billings announced that an injury sustained to his hand in the off-season, which saw him hand the controls of Tombstone over to Justin Billings in the re:MARS all:STARS event, would prevent Hardcore Robotics from competing in World Championship VII. This would not only see Tombstone sit out of its first competition since BattleBots was revived by ABC, but also force Perfect Phoenix to withdraw alongside it.[1] Billings anticipates returning for future competitions, however, potentially with Justin Billings driving full-time.
Outside BattleBots[]
Hardcore Robotics with Last Rites.
Hardcore Robotics are also established competitors outside of BattleBots. Prior to Tombstone's televised debut, Ray Billings made a name for himself on the US live circuit with Last Rites, winning numerous competitions across the country including the 2008 and 2012 ComBots Cup events. Last Rites became a fan favorite during RoboGames, where the team struck a rivalry with Team PlumbCrazy and Team Late Night Racing, fighting fourteen and twenty-one times respectively over the years.
Stinkeye taking on Bullion at RoboGames 2023.
The team also built a middleweight version named The Mortician, which fought in several RoboGames events until its retirement in 2013. As the superheavyweight division's popularity faded, Ray Billings returned to BattleBots in 2015 with an upgraded, 250lb version of Last Rites, giving it the famed Tombstone name. Hardcore Robotics have competed with an array of other robots at varying weight classes, including but not limited to The Great Pumpkin, Coroner, The Mortician and Swamp Thing, the latter being an unused reserve for the first three World Championships on ABC and Discovery.
Both Last Rites and Tombstone are members of the Combat Robotics Hall of Fame, inducted in 2009 and 2019 respectively.[2]
Ray Billings made his competitive return in RoboGames 2023, entering The Mortician and Stinkeye into the middleweight and heavyweight divisions respectively. Stinkeye fought on Day 1, taking out a non-BattleBots opponent in Bullion on its debut. However, it lost out to Khaos 3 in the second round, and dropped into the loser's bracket. There, it took on Piranha, piloted by former Tombstone team member Rick Russ, winning by a 21-12 judges' decision. Stinkeye then fought Manta, but had its drive motor torn out of the chassis and fell out of the tournament. The Mortician fought on Day 2, winning against Who's Your Daddy Now? but losing out to Copyright Infringement in Round 2. It then fought BMF in the loser's bracket, finding itself thrown on top of the arena wall where it could not escape. The Mortician was eliminated from the competition.
In 2023, Ray Billings revealed and began competing with two new robots at NHRL events - Disinformation (12lb) and Fake News (3lb). Both are two-wheel drive, box-shaped robots armed with drum spinners. Disinformation also competed in the Brazilian event Robocore in August 2023 under Team TORG, defeating Batera and losing out to eventual champion Sei Nao. Disinformation's final fight came against Rebite, where it lost by judges' decision and was eliminated at this stage.
Hardcore Robotics are registered for RoboGames 2024 with Stinkeye, Mortician and Disinformation in the 220lb, 120lb and 30lb divisions.
Team Members[]
Ray Billings[]
Team captain and face of Tombstone, Ray Billings has been its main driver for the team's first six BattleBots seasons. Throughout Tombstone's first few seasons especially, Billings adopted a villainous persona on television, often appearing conceited in interviews while having a destructive robot to back up his confidence.
- "You want some more?"
- — Ray Billings' iconic catchphrase once an opponent has become incapacitated
Ray Billings and his Most Destructive Robot Award.
However, it has been made clear by fans, fellow competitors and showrunners alike that this is simply an on-screen character, which has mellowed over time. In World Championship VI, a segment showed Billings officially passing over the torch of "BattleBots Villain" to Hydra captain and driver Jake Ewert. Billings worked for over a decade as a prison guard in Folsom State Prison and taught computer networking in a college, with whom he met Pete Thayer, a fan of the Comedy Central show who used to bring VHS tapes into work.[3] These recordings introduced Billings to the idea of combat robotics, and he then formed Hardcore Robotics.
Ray's partner Juli Johnson and step-son Tyler Nguyen also compete in BattleBots with Perfect Phoenix.
Justin Billings[]
Joining Hardcore Robotics at just 13 years of age, he is the son of captain Ray Billings and has been present in each of Tombstone's reboot era seasons since 2015. His main roles within the team include fabrication and machining.
During the 2019 re:MARS all:STARS BattleBots Challenge, Justin Billings drove Tombstone in its one and only fight against Witch Doctor. Having also driven lightweight The Raven and live event robots Great Pumpkin and Swamp Thing, Justin Billings has since been confirmed as Tombstone's full-time driver for 2022. However, Tombstone again fell at the first hurdle in the 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event to HyperShock.
Justin was also present with the team as Mortician competed alongside CatKong in 2v1 Proving Ground battles versus DOOM in August 2023.
Rick Russ[]
Described by the team as their "pit boss", Rick Russ was present with Tombstone for its first six BattleBots seasons. He has produced many of the parts Tombstone has used over the years.
However, Russ separated from Hardcore Robotics in 2021 and built a new version of Swamp Thing, which he has entered into the 2022 season as Team Swamp Thing. Outside of BattleBots, Russ made up part of the team behind King of Bots entry Spin Doctor, alongside Jim and Forest Yeh of Team Special Delivery and RoboGames owner Dave Calkins.
Now separate from Hardcore Robotics, Russ entered RoboGames 2023 with Piranha, a renamed version of his new Swamp Thing build. In 2022, he built an exhibition robot named Jet Lag which has made appearances at the 2023 live show BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon, and plans to compete in Proving Ground with Hellfire.
Tyler Nguyen[]
Stepson to Ray Billings, Tyler Nguyen took the reigns of Perfect Phoenix in 2020, captaining and driving the robot from the age of 11. Despite his young age, he is a well-respected competitor on the US scene. As well as picking up multiple event wins as part of Team Doom Robotics, Tyler Nguyen competed in the UK web-series BuggleBots with his beetleweight Captain Doom. With Perfect Phoenix stemming from Paul Ventimiglia's iconic heavyweight Brutality, this makes the robot older than Tyler himself.
He has also fought with 1lb robot Commander Doom 2, winning multiple fights and the Sportsmanship Award in the 2017 Bot Blast event at just 8 years old.
Teri Billings[]
Mother to Tyler Nguyen, Teri Billings has been a part of Tombstone officially since the 2021 season, but has been present with Perfect Phoenix since its debut season.
She also joined both Ray and Justin Billings at BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon with Mortician.
Ray Billings Sr.[]
Father to captain Ray Billings, he was present with the team during Hardcore Robotics' earliest competitions.
Ben Thurman and John Cunningham & Pete Thayer[]
Two team members who were present for Hardcore Robotics' Comedy Central BattleBots appearances. Ben Thurman assisted the team with general maintenance, specializing in web design. John Cunningham is the step-brother to Ray Billings and worked for robotics company Parallax.
Robots[]
| Robots | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Darkness | Middleweight | Season 4.0 Season 5.0 |
| The Raven | Lightweight | Season 5.0 |
| Puddle Jumper | Featherweight | NPC Charity Open 2004 |
| Tombstone | Superheavyweight | NPC Charity Open 2004 |
| Heavyweight | Pro Championship 2009 World Championship I World Championship II World Championship III re:MARS all:STARS 2019 World Championship IV World Championship V World Championship VI re:MARS all:STARS 2022 BattleBots: Champions I World Championship VII (Withdrew) World Championship VIII (Status pending) | |
| Swamp Thing | Middleweight Heavyweight |
NPC Charity Open 2004 World Championship I (Exhibition Only) |
| The Mortician | Middleweight Heavyweight |
JavaOne 2007 BattleBots Proving Ground |
* Swamp Thing's attempt to qualify for World Championship VII was under Team Swamp Thing and as such, has been omitted from the list.
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 28
- Losses: 11 *
* Two of these losses are attributed to Mortician following its losses in a 2v1 battle with CatKong against DOOM at BattleBots Proving Ground.
Trivia[]
- Ray Billings has a pet cat called Kitty.