Son of Whyachi

Son of Whyachi is a competitor on BattleBots built by Team Whyachi as a lighter version of their superheavyweight robot Whyachi. It originally competed in Season 3.0 as a heavyweight, where it claimed the championship. However, after new rules decided that its unique drive system (a set of "feet" that "shuffled" along the ground) did not constitute the weight bonus given to walkers, it moved to the superheavyweight division. It was very successful in BattleBots, winning the Season 3 championship against BioHazard. Unfortunately, it never relived its Season 3.0 success, losing very early in Season 4.0, but making it to the round of 16 in Season 5.0, by which point it exchanged its shuffling mechanism for wheels. It also had a lightweight version called YU812 which competed in the final two seasons. Son of Whyachi returned for the NPC Charity Open as Nitro SOW.

Whyachi was a word coined in the team's shop that meant "to bring someone down hard and to inflict massive amounts of pain or damage", which certainly describes the robot well.

Prior to its first rebuild, builder Terry Ewert attempted to enter Son of Whyachi into the second season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, but its application was rejected. Various reasons have been given for Son of Whyachi not being selected, notably that the robot was associated with BattleBots and thus under contract that forbid it from competing elsewhere. Builder Terry Ewert had also concluded that Son of Whyachi's rejection was also due to the potential damage to the arena the robot could've caused during the event. ^[1]

The chassis of Nitro SOW still exists today and is put on display every year at the annual Mecha Mayhem tournament, alongside its teammate Falcon.

Son of Whyachi was revived for the second season of ABC's show. The main changes to Son of Whyachi this time around are that the weapon bar is mounted lower and it is now equipped with a small wedge. Early in this new Son Of Whyachi's development, it featured tracks and it would've been the only to have used all three types of locomotion, but it decided to stay with wheels.

For Season 3, S.O.W. happened to have a new chassis and its rotor toned down to 150 mph. After a rough start, it redeemed itself by tearing two of its competitors to pieces and survived a blow from End Game, even taking out a part of the lexan. Whyachi's luck ran out once again as it faced Lock Jaw and lost due to the weapon burning out.

For Season 4, S.O.W. had new hammers and a faster rotor, now spinning up to 190 mph.

After Son of Whyachi had finished competing in ABC Season 2, the team listed the body on eBay in anticipation of a third season, selling it for $1,525.

Robot History

Season 3.0

Son of Whyachi's first match in Season 3.0 was up against Shaka. Just before the match though, Team Whyachi were having an electrical problem with their robot that took them 25 minutes to fix. When the fight eventually commenced, Son of Whyachi easily tore off Shaka's protection and ripped the lifting arm and front wheels clean off, although Shaka continued moving. Shaka continued to drive and managed to disable Son of Whyachi's hammers, reducing the fight to a pushing and shoving match. The fight finished with Shaka pinning Son of Whyachi against the spikestrip just as the buzzer sounded. Both robots had survived to the end and Son of Whyachi won a 29-16 judge's decision. This win put Son of Whyachi to the TV rounds, where it faced Crabmeat.

Crabmeat took several deadly hits from Son of Whyachi's hammers, bending its wheels. Eventually Crabmeat stopped moving and Son of Whyachi won by KO at 1:42. This win put Son of Whyachi to the round of 32, where it faced Kill-O-Amp.

In this fight, one decisive blow to Kill-O-Amp was all Son of Whyachi needed to immobilize the then-charging robot, as it destroyed its kill switch on contact. Kill-O-Amp was counted out and Son of Whyachi won by KO at 49 seconds. This quick victory put Son of Whyachi to the round of 16, where it faced the feared Nightmare.

This battle was over quickly as Son of Whyachi and Nightmare moved slowly towards the center of the BattleBox. Nightmare attempted to line up its blade with Son of Whyachi's hammers but got lifted around by the hellraisers as Peter Lamberson hit the wrong button. Then, in one amazing hit, Son of Whyachi sent Nightmare flying, its wheels torn off, into the corner of the BattleBox. Nightmare was destroyed and counted out. Son of Whyachi won by KO at 48 seconds and advanced to the quarterfinals, where it faced MechaVore.

For this fight, MechaVore fitted a panel on one side with an embedded barbie doll and glued its battery on top. When the fight started, MechaVore and Son of Whyachi avoided each other for a while before MechaVore drove past and had the added panel torn off. MechaVore crashed into the wall but recovered and drove away. As it did, Son of Whyachi clipped MechaVore. MechaVore attacked Son of Whyachi but was repelled and sent across the BattleBox. MechaVore drove at Son of Whyachi again and managed to hit it without being repelled. The next attack from Mechavore saw it crash into the wall. After moving away from the wall, MechaVore attacked again, hitting Son of Whyachi but getting repelled by Son of Whyachi. Son of Whyachi started to move out of the blue square only for MechaVore to attack it and stop the cage, shearing a tooth from its own weapon, leaving driver Robert Lawrence to power down the weapon. MechaVore attacked again but drove onto the cage because of the killsaws. It was clear that the cage had broke and Son of Whyachi was shoved around before MechaVore pushed it past the entrance ramp towards the pulverizer. As Son of Whyachi freed itself, MechaVore made a sharp turn to line itself up with Son of Whyachi but hit the spikestrip and unplugged its receiver, causing it to stop moving. Son of Whyachi escaped the pulverizer and won by KO. This win put Son of Whyachi to the semifinals, where it faced HexaDecimator.

As the fight started, HexaDecimator charged at Son of Whyachi and had armor on the left side damaged. A couple of attacks later, the front left panel was torn off. HexaDecimator charged at Son of Whyachi again but the flipper got caught on Son of Whyachi's cage, which resulted in a time-out to separate the robots just as Son of Whyachi was moving HexaDecimator to the pulverizer. When the fight resumed, HexaDecimator was not able to move, possibly due to the battery wire being pulled out when the robots were separated, and HexaDecimator was counted out. This advanced Son of Whyachi to the final.

Son of Whyachi advanced to the heavyweight finals, where it faced off against BioHazard for the Giant Nut. The fight began with Son of Whyachi being charged at by BioHazard, but Son of Whyachi had already got its cage up to full speed. The resulting hit tore off BioHazard's front left skirt and sent BioHazard spinning across the BattleBox floor. Son of Whyachi was rammed by BioHazard once more, but Son of Whyachi promptly threw BioHazard across the BattleBox again. Son of Whyachi's weapon had lost one of its red support rods at one end as a result of this second hit. As a result, Son of Whyachi got stuck at the spikestrip with its body spinning at full speed, allowing BioHazard to lift Son of Whyachi into the pulverizer. Once Son of Whyachi escaped, it was pushed by BioHazard into the pulverizer further, where it got pounded for 30 seconds. Son of Whyachi was then lifted into the BattleBox Lexan, nearly getting overturned. However, this hit seemingly incapacitated BioHazard, as it did not move for quite a while. During this time, Son of Whyachi freed itself from the corner of the BattleBox and spun its now-unstable blade back up to speed. SOW then ripped off the entire right-side skirt of BioHazard. The referee began counting out BioHazard, as it had stopped moving, but just as he reached 7, BioHazard recovered and drove back into the center of the BattleBox. Son of Whyachi then debilitated BioHazard's entire right drive system following BioHazards frontal assault, leaving it spinning in circles. This time around, BioHazard was counted out, leading to booing from the crowd. However, since BioHazard was still mobile on one side with 10 seconds left on the clock, the KO was changed to a judges' decision. Son of Whyachi won on a 29-16 judge's decision and became the new heavyweight champion.

Son of Whyachi didn't participate the heavyweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament most likely due to damage from BioHazard during the heavyweight final.

Season 4.0

Son of Whyachi was moved to the superheavyweight division, where it fought the newcomers Swirlee. Less than two seconds into the match, Son of Whyachi spun up to gyroscopic speeds and tilted off balance. Its spinner struck the floor and it leaps into the air, bouncing uncontrollably into the corner. It ripped a piece off of the screws, and came to a stop in front of a pulverizer. Swirlee edged it onto the pulverizer, which crumpled its body. After just 39 seconds in the BattleBox, the champion's return was over. After the match, the team explained that they raised the hammers on the spinner, and had unbalanced the weight distribution in modifying the frame and in their rush hadn't cut down the last hammer before the fight.

Son of Whyachi later came back for the consolation rumble with inflatable hammers. It didn't perform well because it took a hit from Dreadbot, which damaged one of the three red support rods in the weapon, leaving Son of Whyachi barely stable. Odin II moved in and caused Son of Whyachi to become unbalanced and hit Atomic Wedgie. Also, it couldn't move because the drive electronics weren't working and it became a stationary hazard. In the end, Son of Whyachi lost out to Odin II and Atomic Wedgie.

Season 5.0

For Season 5.0, Son of Whyachi was completely rebuilt with a new hammer setup, new design and a new set of wheels. Due to being a former champion and competing in last season, Son of Whyachi was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 5.0, where it eventually fought Steel Reign. Before the fight, the Steel Reign team had converted Steel Reign into a ramming robot

In the match, Son of Whyachi started spinning its hammers and Steel Reign gets hit a couple of times. Steel Reign tries to drive into Son of Whyachi again to stop its spinning hammers, but it was having steering problems and Son of Whyachi kept hitting Steel Reign multiple times. Steel Reign brushes up against Son of Whyachi with its side, allowing small pieces of armor to be tossed around the BattleBox. Then a big collision sends Steel Reign over to the killsaws and Son of Whyachi goes sliding into the base of a screw on the other side of the BattleBox. Steel Reign goes straight at Son of Whyachi, but Son of Whyachi escapes and later gets caught on the killsaws. Steel Reign comes close to stopping its spinning hammers, but as Steel Reign is knocked back by a blow, Son of Whyachi brings it back up to speed. Steel Reign pushes Son of Whyachi into the other base of the same screw. Steel Reign drives into Son of Whyachi again and gets knocked into the screw itself. Steel Reign attacks Son of Whyachi with its spinning thresher and one hit instantly snaps the thresher in half, throwing a big chunk into the corner of the BattleBox. Steel Reign chases after Son of Whyachi, which appears to gently slide away after every collision. Two more hits from Son of Whyachi and now pieces of Steel Reign's armor are coming off. Son of Whyachi hits Steel Reign again and a side panel is thrown off of Steel Reign. Son of Whyachi rams into Steel Reign and sends itself sliding across the BattleBox. Steel Reign is no longer moving properly because from the hit that came immediately before the one initiated by Son of Whyachi, Steel Reign's frame was broken and bent into its tire, making it very difficult to move that side of the robot. Son of Whyachi comes over and starts to attack Steel Reign. Finally, after several additional blows, Steel Reign stopped moving and Son of Whyachi does a victory spin as it was being counted out. Son of Whyachi won by KO and advanced to the round of 16, where it faced No Apologies.

Throughout the match, Son of Whyachi was unable to reach its weapon's maximum speed due to a bad battery. In the end, No Apologies won on a close 24-21 judge's decision and Son of Whyachi was eliminated from the tournament.

NPC Charity Open

After receiving a bye in round one, Nitro SOW went up against OUCH!!. After multiple hits between both robots, Nitro SOW's hammers stopped spinning and OUCH!! was getting ready to hit Nitro SOW again. After this, Nitro SOW stayed away from the spinning OUCH!!. Nitro SOW got hit by OUCH!! again and OUCH!! suddenly stopped moving. Nitro SOW pushed the immobile OUCH!! toward the pulverizer, but it wasn't able to and OUCH!! was counted out. Nitro SOW won by KO and advanced to the winner's quarterfinals, where it faced Bounty Hunter.

Unfortunately, Nitro SOW never got its spinning hammers up to full speed and Bounty Hunter went straight at Nitro SOW. Bounty Hunter tried to flip Nitro SOW from the left side, but it missed. Bounty Hunter immediately tried to flip Nitro SOW again from the front, but misses again and Nitro SOW pushed Bounty Hunter against the corner of the arena. After this, Bounty Hunter almost flipped Nitro SOW and it tried to flip Nitro SOW once again, but misses. After more missed flips from Bounty Hunter, Nitro SOW tried to push Bounty Hunter, but Nitro SOW couldn't and Bounty Hunter flipped Nitro SOW onto its back. Bounty Hunter pushed the flipped Nitro SOW against the corner of the arena and Nitro SOW was counted out. Bounty Hunter won by KO and Nitro SOW was now in the loser's bracket, where it faced Psycho Splatter II.

This match was rather boring as both Nitro SOW and Psycho Splatter II were having driving issues. After a few small nudges between both robots, the time ran out and Psycho Splatter II won on a close judge's decision. This meant that Nitro SOW was eliminated from the tournament.

ABC Season 2

Likely due to Warrior Clan's re-entrance into this series, Son of Whyachi was forced to compete in the preliminary melees which would decide the final four entrants into the main bracket. In its three-way melee, it faced 5-way multibot Creepy Crawlies and flipper UltraViolent. In the match, UltraViolent never moved, so Son of Whyachi simply spun up its weapon and began seeking out its opponents. It eventually hit one of the Creepy Crawlies, obliterating it and knocking it across the floor, hitting another one of the Crawlies in the process. Son of Whyachi then hit another part of the multibot, ripping it open and causing smoke to pour out of it. It then began attacking the immobile UltraViolent, knocking it around a bit but not doing major damage, before both inactive robots were counted out. Son of Whyachi won the match by KO at 1:16 and advanced to the round of 48, where it had a rematch with Chuck Pitzer's Ghost Raptor.

Before this match, Son of Whyachi swapped out its wedge front for the mini wedge spikes. In this match, both robots approached before the initial hit from Son of Whyachi stopped Ghost Raptor's weapon. Ghost Raptor continued to approach but Son of Whyachi scored a big hit, sending both robots flying but not dealing much damage. After another big hit from Son of Whyachi, Ghost Raptor finally got its weapon back up, but one of its two front wedge skirts became jammed backward, leaving its blade unable to spin. Ghost Raptor then started having drive problems as its right side drive chain was twisted. Son of Whyachi's minibot got underneath Ghost Raptor, leaving Ghost Raptor unable to move and allowing Son of Whyachi to strike again. The first of Son of Whyachi's hits did little but the second strike sent Ghost Raptor flying, rendering it immobile. Ghost Raptor was counted out, leaving Son of Whyachi to win by KO. This win put Son of Whyachi into the round of 32 with its No.6 seeding, where it faced the No.27 seed Poison Arrow.

Son of Whyachi and Poison Arrow managed to get their weapons up to speed. Poison Arrow turned and took out Son of Whyachi's minibot as Son of Whyachi advanced. Both robots eventually collided and Son of Whyachi was sent flying into the wall, where it stopped moving, as the impact had knocked out its receiver. Poison Arrow continued to attack Son of Whyachi while it was being counted out. Poison Arrow won by a surprising KO at 58 seconds and Son of Whyachi was eliminated from the tournament.

Discovery Season 3

In its first fight of the season, Son of Whyachi had to fight Brutus. In the beginning of the match, Son of Whyachi started spinning and Brutus went right straight at Son of Whyachi. This left with a big impact between both robots and Son of Whyachi crashed against the corner of the BattleBox. After another collision between both robots, which also spun Brutus around, Brutus got its spinning disc underneath one of the hammers of Son of Whyachi and tossed it onto its back. Brutus backs away from the flipped opponent and moved toward the center of the BattleBox. Son of Whyachi was being counted out and Brutus won the match by a quick KO, giving Son of Whyachi its first lost of the season.

Son of Whyachi's next opponent was against Lucky. The fight was off to a good start for Son of Whyachi as they hit Lucky hard, sending it flying but without dealing any damage. Its opponent continued to approach but Son of Whyachi continued to deliver the hits and tore off a wheel from Lucky. Later, Son of Whyachi tore off the protective wedge Lucky had added for the fight. After a barrage of hits, Lucky eventually lost drive on one side, then became unable to move and was counted out, allowing Son of Whyachi to advance.

Next for Son of Whyachi was Monsoon, which had come off a pretty decisive win over Petunia. When the match began, things were doing okay for both robots but Son of Whyachi delivered the first hits, the latter of which sending both robots into opposite corners. Both robots recovered before Son of Whyachi was sent straight up into the air but landed upright. Additionally, this hit had disabled Monsoon's weapon, allowing Son of Whyachi to move in for another attack, which tore off a front armor panel from its opponent. The final hit knocked out Monsoon by rupturing the battery and leading to the arena filling with smoke. Monsoon was counted out, giving Son of Whyachi the win by KO.

Up next for Son of Whyachi was End Game. This match got underway relatively quickly as there was little maneuvering from either bot before Son of Whyachi collided with End Game's weapon, sending itself flying into the lexan, tearing into the 1st layer before on top of the mount for the screws. As it worked to get off, End Game wasn't moving and still wasn't moving by the time Son of Whyachi freed itself. End Game was counted out, giving Son of Whyachi the win by KO In just 43 seconds. The selection committee deemed Son of Whyachi's record to be enough to bring it into the top 16 where it faced Donald Hutson and Lock-Jaw.

When the match began, Son of Whyachi approached and got its weapon up to speed before striking Lock-Jaw's rear shield and throwing both bots backwards. Both robots recovered and Son of Whyachi attacked again, hitting Lock-Jaw's shield once more and being deflected away. This repeated a few more times until smoke began to pour out from its weapon, reducing the match to a pushing match. Son of Whyachi took attacks from Lock-Jaw, whom had now turned to face it with its primary weapon but the attacks didn't cause any major damage. Son of Whyachi was thrown onto the arena screws but escaped and managed to get under Lock-Jaw briefly. Time ran out and the judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision to Lock-Jaw, eliminating Son of Whyachi from the tournament.

Discovery Season 4

Son of Whyachi kicked off it 2019 season by being placed up against HUGE. The match started out pretty even as Son of Whyachi was delivering hits to HUGE and taking hits but not causing or taking any real damage. However, after a few hits, Son of Whyachi managed to tear off part of HUGE's left wheel, which left it struggling to drive as its body sloped to the left. Son of Whyachi went in for a final hit before HUGE was counted out, giving Son of Whyachi the win by KO.

Son of Whyachi's next opponent was against veteran Matt Vasquez and Whiplash. As the match got underway, things were going well for Son of Whyachi as they were dishing out damage, notably tearing off one of Whiplash's front scoops. However, as the match progressed, Son of Whyachi became trapped by Whiplash's lifting arm and driven on top of the screws. Son of Whyachi escaped, but Whiplash wasn't letting up, so they weren't able to really get their spinning hammers going easily. Finally, Son of Whyachi got enough time and room to get the weapon going but after another hit, the weapon stopped working and smoke began to pour out. Son of Whyachi was now vulnerable and was eventually flipped over by Whiplash. With no way to self-right, Son of Whyachi was counted out, giving Whiplash the win by KO.

Son of Whyachi ended up next facing veteran Michael Mauldin and his new bot, Texas Twister. Son of Whyachi went in unchanged and was able to quickly take control of the fight by sending Texas Twister onto its back end by clipping its spinning disc. Before Texas Twister could get back down, Son of Whyachi sent it flying over the screws and nearly out of the arena. However, Texas Twister managed to escape before Son of Whyachi bent the outer left wheel, disabling the inner left wheel as well. Son of Whyachi continued its assault by tearing off Texas Twister's rear plate and then finally bending its outer right wheel on the other side. Texas Twister could no longer move and was counted out, giving Son of Whyachi the win by KO.

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 16
• Losses: 8

Competition	Wins	Losses
Season 3.0	Shaka Crabmeat Kill-O-Amp Nightmare MechaVore HexaDecimator BioHazard	None
Season 4.0	None	Swirlee
Season 5.0	Steel Reign	No Apologies
2004 NPC Charity Open	Bye OUCH!!	Bounty Hunter Psycho Splatter II
ABC Season 2	Creepy Crawlies and UltraViolent Ghost Raptor	Poison Arrow
Discovery Season 3	Lucky (Undercard Match) Monsoon (Undercard Match) End Game (Undercard Match)	Brutus (Undercard Match) Lock-Jaw
Discovery Season 4	HUGE (Undercard Match) Texas Twister (Undercard Match)	Whiplash (Main Event/Undercard Match)

Mark Beiro Introductions

"It has the cold heart of The Terminator, the raw courage of a gladiator and the electric motor of a refrigerator. Here is SON OF WHYACHI!"

"This killer robot's resume reads more like a rap sheet, but his father has never been prouder. It's SON OF WHYACHI!"

"He's made mince metal out of his inferior opponents and loves dishing out dings and dents. Introducing SON OF WHYACHI!"

"This robot wanted me to read a letter to his mama. If I don't come home with the Giant Nut, melt me down and give my spare parts to needy robots. Let's hear it for SON OF WHYACHI!"

"He takes all the fun out of the slaughterhouse and brings it to the BattleBox. Here is SON OF WHYACHI!"

"You don't have to have a PHD in physics to know that when his hammers hit you, it smarts. Here is SON OF WHYACHI!"

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Hotter than a hibachi and louder than a mariachi. It's SON OF WHYACHI!"

"Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been in here for years, rockin’ its peers putting robots in fear. It’s SON OF WHYACHI!"

"Round and round it goes, who it crushes? Everyone knows. It’s one stellar propeller. It’s SON OF WHYACHI!"

"This bot's been around so long it used to battle in black and fight and tonight it's looking to make its Groucho Marx. Make some noise for SON OF WHYACHI!"

"It'll bowl you over like a game of botchi, grill you up like a southern hibachi. Remember that show Joanne Loves Chachi? It wasn't very good but this bot's great. It's SON OF WHYACHI!"

"Whenever I hear this bot is going to battle, I've got two questions: whenachi and whereachi? It's SON OF WHYACHI!"

"This bot's from America's dairy land and it's about to milk you for all your worth. He doesn't go cow tipping, he goes bot ripping. It's SON OF WHYACHI!"

"It's the pride of Spinsconsin. Here comes the triangle of death. It's SON OF WHYACHI!"

"What's... what's wrong with your face? It's so scratched up and splotchy. Oh, that's right. You just got smacked by the SON OF WHYACHI!"

"You can't beat these guys unless you cut their family ties. They're gonna leave you battered and beaten like Alex P. Keaton. I guarantee by the end of the tourney you're gonna need a meritive backster gurney. SON OF WHYACHI!"

"It's about to be a family affair. Against these band of brothers, you don't have a pray. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but it does, when the apple gets hit by the SON OF WHYACHI!"

Merchandise

Any appearances by Son of Whyachi in merchandise are listed below:

• Son of Whyachi/RC Custom Series

Trivia

• Despite Son of Whyachi's main weakness being a lack of a self righting mechanism, it's only ever been flipped onto its back three times: once by Bounty Hunter, once by Brutus, and once by Whiplash.
• Son of Whyachi is the first heavyweight champion of a televised BattleBots event which was armed with a horizontally-spinning weapon. It is also the first robot with that weapon to reach a heavyweight final.
  • It had also returned for the ABC Season 2 for BattleBots, along with Nightmare, Warhead and Complete Control. It, along with Warhead, also returned to Discovery Season 3 but unlike Warhead, only Son of Whyachi made a return for Season 4.
  • Son Of Whyachi is also the first shufflebot to win a Battlebots championship.
• Son of Whyachi is one of four robots to reach the Top 16 in the reboot's third season to not have any of its fights featured as a main event, with the others being Monsoon, Rotator, and WAR Hawk.
• All the fights that took Son of Whyachi to the judges resulted in a serious weapon problem.

References

1. ↑ Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports

See Also

• Son of Whyachi (Robot Wars)