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Mohawk was a heavyweight robot built by Euclid Robotics, which competed in the first three BattleBots World Championships.

Its main weapon was a crushing jaw with brush hairs across the top designed to resemble a mohawk hairstyle, hence its name. However, mounted within this crushing jaw was a flamethrower at the tip of the jaw. The robot's strategy was to pierce its opponent's armor, then have the flames melt the internals as the spiked wedge hooked opponents in position. Mohawk also sported LED eyes mounted on either side of the jaw. However, it lost its debut battle during World Championship I and was eliminated at the first hurdle.

For World Championship II, Mohawk was upgraded with self-righting arms on each side. Despite winning its qualifying rumble against Invader and Lycan, Max Bales found himself against defending champion Paul Ventimiglia and Bite Force. It lost by knockout and was immediately eliminated.

Mohawk WCIII hero shots

Mohawk during World Championship III hero shots.

Returning for World Championship III, Mohawk was rebuilt, though the extent of its upgrades are unknown. Max's father Tom Bales now captained the team. Euclid Robotics removed Mohawk's spikes and LED 'eyes' as the robot now sported a brown and green color scheme, rather than blue. It again did not perform well, however, losing all three of its matches and failing to make the Top 16.

Mohawk retired from BattleBots after the 2018 season, with Greg Bales and Connie Ryan migrating to HyperShock ahead of World Championship VI, captained by brother of Tom and Greg - Will Bales. The builder of Mohawk, Korey Kline, also designed Rammstein, TriMangle and Surgeon General in BattleBots as well as driving TriMangle. He would later apply for the 2021 season of BattleBots himself with GrassKicker, but would ultimately not compete.

After its last BattleBots fight, Mohawk was stored in Will Bales' work warehouse. The Whyachi switch used on Mohawk was salvaged and brought as a spare part for HyperShock in 2019, ahead of World Championship IV.

"Mohawk probably isn't returning. The team is split up all over the country now. Kids went to college, one of the adults moved out of the state, the remaining 2 adults don't want to run a team by themselves. Upside: we get the whole shop to ourselves now."
— Kyle Awner of HyperShock speaks about Mohawk in January 2019

The team would unofficially put Mohawk up for sale, though it is still under the ownership of Will Bales. In a January 2023 episode of RoboCast, Team HyperShock's captain stated the possibility of Mohawk being entered into the live event BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon, confirming Max Bales had spoken about wanting to build a revamped Mohawk to the level of fellow crusher Quantum.[1]

Tom Bales sadly passed away in October 2023.

Outside BattleBots[]

Mohawk was temporarily displayed alongside the 2016 version of HyperShock, Gruff and various other robots at Orlando Maker Faire in 2017.

Robot History[]

World Championship I[]

Mohawk vs. HyperShock

Mohawk's first fight of the 2015 competition was a family affair against Will Bales and HyperShock.

IMG 7824

Mohawk is hit by HyperShock.

Mohawk was instantly box-rushed by HyperShock, who after one strong hit from HyperShock, suffered issues with its speed controllers and stopped moving. HyperShock won by knockout after just 35 seconds.[2]

Mohawk baseplate post HyperShock WCI

Mohawk's baseplate post-fight.

Mohawk was not given a wildcard, meaning it was eliminated after just one fight. Post-fight, the team revealed HyperShock had torn a titanium sheet away and damaged its baseplate.[3]

World Championship II[]

Mohawk vs. Lycan vs. Invader

Mohawk was one of twelve robots which was forced to compete in three-way melees in order to determine the final four robots of the bracket. In its match, Mohawk was placed against Invader and rookie Lycan.

Invader Lycan Mohawk attack WCII

Lycan drives into Invader.

Mohawk led with its steep front wedge as Invader quickly got up to speed and Lycan dashed across the BattleBox. Lycan oversteered and found itself in the corner of the arena, where Mohawk gave chase. In escaping, Lycan drove into Invader and spun away on impact, suffering a gash in its front wedge.

Invader2016

Invader ricochets around the BattleBox.

This impact destabilized Invader, whose weapon was slowed after hitting Mohawk. However, the shell continued to make contact with the steel floor and Invader kept pinballing around the BattleBox, showing little control as Mohawk activated its flamethrowers.
"Looks like Invader's able to spin properly now but it's not moving. That's not a good sign here."
— Kenny Florian as Invader appears immobile

Invader KO vs Mohawk Lycan WCII

Invader continues to spin, but shows no signs of life in its drive.

Lycan then rammed into the side of Mohawk before turning its attention to Invader, who was residing in the red starting square. The Canadian bot attacked Invader again, but suffered a second gash to the side of its plow. Invader was nudged several more times and then stopped moving, though its shell continued to spin.

"And here we go - looks like the tide may have turned as Mohawk may have an opening."
— Kenny Florian

Mohawk grabs Lycan Invader WCII

Mohawk grabs Lycan.

Mohawk and Lycan continued to charge into Invader, which eventually cost Lycan a drive chain. The flaming crusher was able to push Lycan across the arena, eventually sinking its claw between its double-stacked drive wheels.

With the Canadian robot unable to drive away due to aforementioned damage, a count began on both Invader and Lycan, with Mohawk declared the winner by double knockout.

Mohawk vs. Bite Force

BiteForcevsMohawk BB2016

Bite Force attacking Mohawk with its spinning bar.

At the start of the match, both robots moved towards the center of the box before Mohawk turned its rear to face Bite Force. The champ took advantage, landing a glancing blow and pushing Mohawk near the screws. The two struggled to make much happen, unable to make good contact with each other, until Mohawk finally disengaged to try again. However, sparks flew out from the crusher's underbelly, causing it to slow down enough for Paul Ventimiglia to land a more powerful blow.

Mohawk Bite Force

Mohawk tries to keep Bite Force at bay.

However, this collision caused one of Bite Force's wedgelets to fall off, making it more difficult to get under Mohawk's wedge. Several more grinding hits resulted in the loss of the other wedgelet, forcing Bite Force to charge head-on into its opponent. The champ continued to batter away at Mohawk's rear, even ripping a panel off of it before shoving it against the wall where the crusher found itself immobile. After a few more glancing shots by Bite Force, the match was paused due to the belief Mohawk may be stuck under the arena barrier, allowing the crew to enter the arena and pull it away.

When the match resumed, it was clear Mohawk could no longer move, so Paul pushed the defeated machine towards the corner doors. As Mohawk was being counted out, the champ celebrated its continued winning streak with a gyro dance. Mohawk was again not chosen to be a wildcard, meaning it was eliminated from the tournament.

World Championship III[]

Mohawk vs. Gemini vs. Kraken

Mohawk grab Gemini Kraken

Mohawk holds one of the Gemini bots as it is hit by the other.

Mohawk returned in 2018 for a third season, and in its opening match, was against Gemini and Kraken in a Science Channel exclusive undercard rumble. In this rumble, things started out evenly for a bit but Mohawk quickly grabbed one of the Gemini bots and slammed it into multiple walls before letting go. Mohawk took shots from Gemini and eventually lost the tip of its beak but the weapon was still functional. Mohawk repeated its tactic by continuing to corral the Gemini robots and prevent their weapons from getting up to speed while Kraken was eventually stuck up against the arena screws. However, with around forty seconds left in the rumble, Mohawk stopped moving right on the killsaws and was counted out as the killsaws attacked it from below. In the end, only Gemini was mobile and thus won by KO.

Mohawk vs. SawBlaze

SawBlazevsMohawk bb2018

Mohawk's rear end is cut into by SawBlaze.

Mohawk's next opponent was Jamison Go and SawBlaze. The match was off to a poor start as they were quickly shoved into the arena barrier and took punishment from SawBlaze's saw. Mohawk tried to retaliate and ended up taking two hits from the pulverizer. After some maneuvering, Mohawk was flipped up against the arena barrier where it could not self right or otherwise move and was counted out while SawBlaze carved into it again.

Mohawk vs. Reality

Reality hits Mohawk's front

Mohawk's front gets hit and bended by Reality.

Reality vs Mohawk

Mohawk gets thrown onto its side by Reality.

Up next for Mohawk was Reality as part of a last-ditch effort to make the Top 16. The match was pretty even to start as both robots were able to make contact, but did no major damage to each other. However, Mohawk soon suffered damage to its front wedge from Reality, reducing the odds of Mohawk getting its wedge underneath to make the crushing arm useful. Mohawk continued to come at Reality despite all the punishment it was taking, but each hit was dealing more and more damage. Eventually Mohawk was thrown onto its side where it could not self-right. Mohawk was counted out, giving Reality the win by KO.

This proved to be Mohawk's final BattleBots fight, as it did not return for future competitions.

Results[]

MOHAWK
World Championship I
World Championship Tournament
Qualifiers
Qualifier vs. HyperShock Lost (KO)
World Championship II
World Championship Tournament
Qualifiers
Pre-Qualifier vs. Invader, Lycan Won (KO)
Qualifier vs. Bite Force Lost (KO)
World Championship III
Fight Nights
0-3
Fight Night #1 - Rumble vs. Gemini, Kraken Lost (KO)
Fight Night #2 vs. SawBlaze Lost (KO)
Fight Night #3 vs. Reality Lost (KO)

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 1
  • Losses: 5
Competition Wins Losses
World Championship I None HyperShock
World Championship II Invader & Lycan Bite Force
World Championship III None Gemini

(Undercard Rumble)

SawBlaze
(Undercard Match)
Reality
(Undercard Match)

Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]

"It's the last of the robo-hicans. Here to collect scalps, it's MOHAWK!"

"Also known as Chief Hitting Bull. Here to do a sacred pain dance, it's MOHAWK!"

"With a rebel yell, it cried, "Gore! Gore! Gore!" It's one mean punk that'll turn you into junk! Rock out with your bot out! It's MOHAWK!"

"Welcome to the rumble. This bot's fought in flames. Its action and flames will have you dizzy straddling. Here to bring the November pain, it's MOHAWK!"

"A bigger punk than a teenage vandal. It'll light you up like a Roman candle. It's the rough rider with its hair on fire. Get ready to get rocked, MOHAWK!"

References[]

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