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Mauler was a heavyweight robot entered by the South Bay RoboWarriors, which competed in all five seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots as well as the 1999 Long Beach event.

Built by "Supreme Commander" Charles Tilford and his family, Mauler's weapon was a large overhead disc equipped with chisels and steel padlocks spinning at around 550rpm.[1] It was notable for its various incarnations, each upgraded from the last, as well as its eccentric builders. For the final two seasons of BattleBots, the design was changed from the spinning lid to a full-body spinner with two flails. However, the spinning forces of the robot caused the shell to bend in on itself, and at least once during the Season 5.0 competition the shell had to be changed due to this.

Mauler was also well-known for taking multiple vibrantly painted shells to each competition, and became renowned for the "Mauler dance", which occurred when Mauler attempted to right itself upon being flipped. This behavior was also referred to as "pulling a Mauler" and has remained a relevant term even in the sport's modern era.

For Season 5.0, the team also entered a superheavyweight called M2K02. However, it lost in the first preliminary round to Steel Reign.

Outside BattleBots[]

In the UK series Robot Wars, Mauler was going to compete in the First World Championship side competition, representing the USA. However, it was disqualified as its weapon was deemed too unsafe for the arena to contain. The following year, Mauler fought in the unaired MTV pilot for an American spin-off where it became champion, defeating Spike and frenZy. However, the pilot was unsuccessful and remains lost media to this day, although images of competing robots in the pits exist.

Mauler 51-50 fought in Steel Conflict 4 after BattleBots as HellFire 666, but lost all three of its fights and retired due to battle damage sustained in its final fight.

One of Mauler 51-50's shells from Season 3.0 made a cameo in the ABC BattleBots reboot, where it could be seen in the crowd with Ray Scully of Team Wetware on several occasions.

Robot History[]

Long Beach 1999[]

The Mauler vs. frenZy

The Mauler's first match of the competition was against frenZy. Neither robot was knocked out in the allocated time and frenZy won by crowd vote.

The Mauler vs. Punjar

Now in the losers bracket, The Mauler faced Punjar. This fight also went the distance and Punjar won by crowd vote. As such, The Mauler was eliminated from the tournament.

Gigabot Royal Rumble

Longbeachhwrumble

BioHazard and The Mauler being separated after the rumble ended.

The Mauler then participated the Gigabot Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. The Mauler started spinning at full speed and manages to hit Rhino from the front. The Mauler stopped spinning and after getting hit by S.L.A.M., BioHazard slid underneath The Mauler and almost flipped it over. BioHazard continued pushing The Mauler until the rumble was halted, as Juggernaut started catching fire and was extinguished immediately. After the rumble restarted, The Mauler managed to escape and started spinning its disc again. The Mauler was slammed by Punjar and lifted by BioHazard again. However, BioHazard got its lifting arm stuck underneath The Mauler and pushed it against the arena wall multiple times before the time ran out. Razer was declared the overall winner of the Gigabot Rumble and Mauler had to be manually separated from BioHazard after the fight.

Season 1.0[]

Mauler vs. Nightmare

Maulervsnightmare sf00

Mauler rips off one of Nightmare's wheels.

Mauler's first televised BattleBots fight was against Jim Smentowski and Nightmare. Both bots inched forward, spinning at full speed. However, Mauler, having a horizontal disc, pushed Nightmare's disc to the side and hit Nightmare's left wheel, taking it off. Mauler struck Nightmare again, causing it to slide into the spikestrip. Mauler then ground at the dead Nightmare's frame with its spinning chisels until the match was declared over. Mauler won the fight by KO and advanced to the quarter-finals, where it faced KillerHurtz.

Mauler vs. KillerHurtz

Mauler vs killerhurtz 1

Mauler rips off KillerHurtz's axe before it was immobilized.

The match started and Mauler spun up to full speed. KillerHurtz charged Mauler and was hit with the full force of its spinning maces. After a few more clashes, KillerHurtz attempted to back into Mauler to try to slow its weapon down. However it was of little effect because a piece of KillerHurtz's Lexan was easily ripped off by Mauler. KillerHurtz then attempted to attack Mauler with its pickaxe, but Mauler easily ripped it off and launched it across the arena. KillerHurtz bumped Mauler one last time, and the impact sent Mauler into the killsaws and caused Mauler's radio receiver to become disconnected and all of its systems to stop. KillerHurtz hit Mauler again, but it was unnecessary because Mauler was knocked out. Mauler was counted out, causing one of the biggest upsets in BattleBots to date. KillerHurtz won the fight by KO and Mauler was eliminated from the tournament.

Heavyweight Royal Rumble

KnomeIIrumble

Mauler destroying Knome II.

MaulerHWRumble sf00

Mauler overturned during the rumble.

Mauler also took part in the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. In the beginning, Mauler was targeting Knome II and was bumped by BioHazard shortly after. Mauler took hits from Blendo and eventually stopped spinning, later finding itself pushed around the arena by Punjar. Mauler was lifted momentarily by Vlad the Impaler before Kill-O-Amp pushed it in front of Monster. Mauler was then towards Suicidal Tendencies, who had been immobilized earlier in the fight. Later on, Mauler was attacked by the overhead weapons of frenZy and Suicidal Tendencies, whose axe was still functional. BioHazard separated the two axe robots and opted to flip Mauler onto its lid. Mauler was unable to self-right and remained overturned near the spikestrip for the remainder for the rumble. BioHazard was declared the winner of the rumble.

Season 2.0[]

Mauler 51-50 vs. Bigger Brother

Mauler Dance vs Bigger Brother

Mauler 51-50 unbalances and breaks into its first "Mauler dance".

Mauler returned for Season 2.0, with the psychedelic look replaced by a monster's face. This new revision was dubbed Mauler 51-50. It was shorter, sleeker and faster than its previous build. The weapon now consisted of two hard steel flails. Mauler came into Season 2.0 facing Bigger Brother. The match started and Bigger Brother tried to maneuver around Mauler 51-50, afraid of the spinning blades. When the two finally met in a shower of sparks, Bigger Brother was hurled across the arena, breaking a weld on Mauler 51-50's flail that hit Bigger Brother and sending the flail flying. Mauler 51-50 became unbalanced and eventually ended up on its back. Bigger Brother pushed Mauler 51-50 into the pulverizer, causing smoke to spew from its exposed underbelly. This image of Mauler 51-50 unbalancing itself became one of the most iconic moments in BattleBots history, and from then on any time a full-body spinner unbalanced itself, it became known as the "Mauler dance". Bigger Brother won the fight by KO and Mauler 51-50 was eliminated from the tournament.

Heavyweight Consolation Rumble

MaulerHWRumble lv00

Mauler 51-50 gets flipped by Bigger Brother again.

MjollnirHWRumble lv00

A weaponless Mjollnir attacks Mauler 51-50.

Mauler 51-50 entered the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble at the end of the tournament. Mauler 51-50 started spinning and moved to the center of the arena. Mauler 51-50 managed to hit Kill-O-Amp, OverKill and Mjollnir in a matter of seconds, but neither robot suffered any damage from the spinning flails. Mauler 51-50 stopped spinning and Bigger Brother flips Mauler 51-50 onto its side and then on its back again. The flipped Mauler 51-50 was being attacked by the weaponless Mjollnir and the knife blade of OverKill. Mauler 51-50 was left alone shortly after and time ran out soon after. OverKill and Punjar were declared the winners of the rumble.

Season 3.0[]

Mauler 51-50 vs. Dreadbot

Maulervsdreadbot

Mauler tears into Dreadbot.

Mauler 51-50 returned once again for Season 3.0, and because of its previous performance in BattleBots it was able to skip the preliminary rounds. Its first opponent in this season was Dreadbot. This match was an easy victory for Mauler as Dreadbot drove forward at full speed and rammed straight into the spike strip on the opposite side of the BattleBox. It stopped moving after this and Mauler drove in to deliver a few blows before it was counted out.

Mauler 51-50 vs. Incoming

Mauler advanced to the Round of 32, where it faced Incoming. Incoming won the fight on a close 25-20 judges' decision and Mauler was eliminated from the tournament.

Heavyweight Consolation Rumble

Mauler vs greenspan rumble

Mauler whacks Greenspan during the consolation rumble.

Mauler made one more appearance in Season 3.0 during the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble, but after delivering a crippling blow to Greenspan's weaponry, it was caught and overturned by Little Sister (the successor of Bigger Brother no less), which eliminated it from the rumble.

Season 4.0[]

Mauler 51-50 vs. Jabberwock

JabberwockvsMauler sf01b

The initial hit between Jabberwock and Mauler 51-50.

Mauler5150vsJabberwock

Mauler 51-50 is attacked by the killsaws.

Mauler5150vsJabberwock screenshot2

Mauler 51-50 suffers a blow from the pulverizer.

Mauler 51-50 was revised for Season 4.0, now donning a larger spinning shell with a flail on each side. Due to its seeding, Mauler was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 4.0, where it eventually faced Jabberwock. Mauler didn't do very well in this fight, as Jabberwock's first ram caused Mauler to become unbalanced and do its namesake spin onto its back. Once inverted it could not self-right, and it was eventually pushed by Jabberwock over the killsaws and then into the pulverizer. Mauler was being counted out and Jabberwock won the fight by KO. This meant that Mauler was eliminated from the tournament.

Season 5.0[]

Mauler 51-50 vs. Incisor

Maulershell2

Mauler's other Season 5.0 shell, this was the shell that made it to the TV rounds.

Maulervsincisor sf02

Incisor battles Mauler.

Mauler was no longer seeded for Season 5.0 and therefore had to go through the qualifiers. It first met up against Incisor. Incisor was the aggressor in this fight, able to get under Mauler and lift it, but Mauler caused more damage and won the fight on a close 23-22 judges' decision.

Mauler 51-50 vs. Spinning Mayhem

Mauler then fought Spinning Mayhem. As the match started, both robots spun up, but Spinning Mayhem backed up from Mauler's approach. Spinning Mayhem took one hit and stopped moving, while Mauler chewed on the carcass. This quick knockout brought Mauler to the final preliminary round.

Mauler 51-50 vs. Fatal Encounter

Fatal Encounter Vs Mauler 51-50

Mauler 51-50 rips off Fatal Encounter's wedge

Next up for Mauler 51-50 was Fatal Encounter. Early on, Mauler 51-50 managed to cripple the lifting arm with the first exchanges of the fight. The next hit sent Fatal Encounter's wedge flying across the BattleBox and as it tried to use its spinner, Mauler managed to break that too. Mauler began to damage the side armor of Fatal Encounter before it tapped out.

Mauler 51-50 vs. SlamJob

Maulervsslamjob sf02

Mauler fighting SlamJob.

Mauler had managed to get back into the TV rounds and it went up against SlamJob. Mauler won the fight by KO and advanced to the Round of 16.

Mauler 51-50 vs. MechaVore

MechaVorevsMauler sf02

MechaVore and Mauler 51-50 collide.

Mechavore mauler 5

MechaVore's weapon powers up late on.

Now in the last sixteen, Mauler 51-50 faced MechaVore. As both robots got up to speed, Mauler slowly approached MechaVore as its opponent appeared tentative, keeping its disc pointed at the Tilford family's bot. Mauler 51-50 dealt the first blow of the match to MechaVore's side, but appeared to slow down before grinding to a halt. MechaVore closed in and delivered several swipes to Mauler 51-50, slicing into its side. MechaVore drove onto the killsaws momentarily but was unaffected as it drove towards Mauler 51-50 again. However, MechaVore's own weapon began to smoke and slow down, resulting in a pushing match as the fight wore on. Both robots moved sluggishly around the BattleBox until MechaVore backed up and powered its horizontal disc once again. With twenty seconds to go, MechaVore dished out several more hits and left the lasting impression on the judges, who awarded MechaVore a 33-12 judges' decision. Mauler was eliminated from the tournament.



According to the team, Mauler's weapon stopped working due to a misplaced nut on its weapon system, which kept the shell from moving around freely. After the first big impact, the weapon moved due to the missing nut, keeping the weapon from spinning.

Tilford

The Tilfords with Mauler 51-50 at Season 3.0

Results[]

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 6
  • Losses: 7
Competition Wins Losses
Long Beach 1999 None frenZy, Punjar
Season 1.0 Nightmare KillerHurtz
Season 2.0 None Bigger Brother
Season 3.0 Dreadbot Incoming
Season 4.0 None Jabberwock
Season 5.0

Incisor

Spinning Mayhem

Fatal Encounter

SlamJob

MechaVore

Honors[]

MAULER
Season 1.0
Most Aggressive Robot Award

Mark Beiro Introductions[]

"It's the pride of Portola Valley, California. This 210 pound squat bot that swats a lot. Its MAULER!"

"Banned in Britain. He's hungry as hell and on the prowl. Its the metal munching maniac, MAULER!"

"He'll trash you, he'll mash you, he'll mangle and crash bash you. Introducing MAULER!"

Merchandise[]

Any appearances by Mauler in merchandise are listed below:

Trivia[]

  • According to an article from the Washington Post, Mauler cost $4000 to build for BattleBots.
  • The "51-50" in Mauler's name was a reference to the corresponding section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which states that a qualified officer can hold an individual with a mental disorder in institution if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others.
  • Mauler's lid from BattleBots Season 3.0, which is currently owned by Ray Scully, was in the audience at RoboGames 2018.
    • This is the same lid featured on the Metal Mechanics kit released as merchandise during the Comedy Central era of Comedy Central BattleBots.
  • Mauler captain Charles Tilford used to play in a rock band.
  • The British teams to whom Mauler suffered two upset defeats in two consecutive seasons, Team Hurtz and Team Bigger Brother, coincidentally fought each other in Season 4.0.

References[]

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