The Ringmaster

The Ringmaster
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship II
Other Names	Ringmaster
Team Information
Team	Team Black and Blue
Team Members	Hal Rucker (Captain) Hannah Rucker Douglas Palmer Kathy Rucker
From	Hillsborough, CA
Other Entries	DUCK!, Marvin
Robot Statistics
Weight	250lbs
Weapons	Ring spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Not to be confused with the robot of the same name, which fought in Season 5.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots.

The Ringmaster was a heavyweight robot built by Team Black and Blue which competed in BattleBots World Championship II.

Built by Hal Rucker, The Ringmaster was driven by his then 11-year-old daughter Hannah Rucker. The robot's main chassis was machined out of a solid piece of magnesium and was armed with a steel spinning ring running against rollers positioned around the circumference of the chassis. the outer ring featured a single tooth which was capable of impressive damage in several of its fights.

The Ringmaster during World Championship II hero shots.

The robot made use of a unique "vector skid drive system", to quote captain Hal Rucker. Whereas robots such as Shatter! and Ominous use special omniwheels to allow the robot to strafe side to side, The Ringmaster used three pairs of traditional wheels, with each pair positioned at 60° angles from one another. Each pair of wheels were friction-driven, meaning they were in direct contact with the spinning parts of each drive motor. A drawback of this unique drive setup was that it could only ever move forwards and backwards in three different directions, though this did not stop The Ringmaster causing visible damage in two of its three fights. In the original CAD of The Ringmaster, it was seen with four pairs of these wheels, though this was changed to three for the final build. The Ringmaster won its opening battle against Ultimo Destructo, but lost in the Round of 32 to defending champion Bite Force. It would fight one final time in a special three-way rumble, where it won against Bad Kitty and OverDrive.

With Hal Rucker competing with DUCK! from World Championship III onwards and Hannah Rucker competing with Marvin in World Championship IV, The Ringmaster would not fight in BattleBots again after its debut season.

In March 2023, Hal Rucker listed The Ringmaster's magnesium chassis on eBay.

The Ringmaster's outer ring.

Inside The Ringmaster.

The Ringmaster's original CAD - note the four sets of wheels.

Robot History

World Championship II
The Ringmaster vs. Ultimo Destructo The Ringmaster's first fight was against the experienced Sean Irvin and Ultimo Destructo, who had equipped its flipper for this fight. Ultimo Destructo battles The Ringmaster. Ultimo Destructo approached The Ringmaster, which got its spinner up to speed. On impact, its spinning ring tore away part of Ultimo Destructo's right wheelguard. Sean Irvin's robot tried to flip The Ringmaster, but missed and instead took a hit to its rear panel, peeling it away as it hit the screws. The Ringmaster tears away part of Ultimo Destructo's wheelguard. As The Ringmaster looked on, Ultimo Destructo struggled to escape the red starting square, allowing The Ringmaster to tear away the remainder of its damaged wheelguard. Now reduced to crab-walking across the BattleBox, Ultimo Destructo's drive chain had also come loose on that side, but the Rucker family's bot appeared content to dominate the middle of the arena. Ultimo Destructo is knocked out. Almost a minute passed with neither robot making contact. This came to an end as The Ringmaster struck the back corner of Ultimo Destructo and damaged its master power switch. Despite its best attempts to show controlled movement, all Ultimo Destructo succeeded in doing was flipping itself over and demonstrating its ability to self-right. This was not enough to satisfy referee Michael Ayers and Ultimo Destructo was counted out, confirming The Ringmaster's place in the Round of 32 as the No.29 seed.
The Ringmaster vs. Bite Force Next up for Hannah Rucker and The Ringmaster was defending BattleBots champion, Bite Force. Bite Force overturns The Ringmaster. As the fight began, The Ringmaster was denied the chance to get its weapon up to speed as Paul Ventimiglia's robot charged into the ring spinner, throwing The Ringmaster into the air. Bite Force pursued as Hannah Rucker's machine was penned in the corner. Bite Force attacks The Ringmaster before losing its weapon. Bite Force hit The Ringmaster, tossing it over as the nearby pulverizer slammed against the steel floor. The 2015 season champion punted The Ringmaster back into the corner, this time finding itself struck by the BattleBox hazard. Another hit overturned The Ringmaster again, but following this attack, the disk of Bite Force suddenly stopped. With The Ringmaster's spinner disabled from Bite Force's repeated attacks, both robots were without their primary weapon for the remainder of the battle. The Ringmaster escaped the corner but was pursued by Bite Force - its unique drive system working against it in what had become a pushing battle. The Aptyx Designs machine used its wedge to slide underneath its opponent, but the rounded design of The Ringmaster meant it kept slipping away from danger. The Ringmaster is driven into the corner. Bite Force pinned The Ringmaster against the rails as the fight passed the halfway mark, but the arena paddle nudged the four-wheel drive bot away. The Ringmaster almost found itself caught in the screws behind the blue square before dashing away to the middle of the arena again. Following a considerable time spent chasing its opponent, Bite Force got its plow underneath the large tooth of The Ringmaster and shoved it into the corner, following this up with a few rams. The Ringmaster drove into the killsaws in the final minute, and Bite Force drove it into the housing of the screws as the buzzer signalled the end of the fight. The Ringmaster's buckled frame after its loss to Bite Force. The judges awarded Bite Force a unanimous decision, eliminating The Ringmaster from the tournament.
The Ringmaster vs. Bad Kity vs. OverDrive (Exhibition) Despite its elimination from the competition, Hannah Rucker would drive The Ringmaster once more as it fought in a three-bot battle against Bad Kitty driven by Katie Mason and OverDrive driven by Carissa Carlberg, dubbed 'The Daughters Rumble' on the BattleBots YouTube channel. All three robots were tentative to begin, though The Ringmaster was able to hang back as OverDrive and Bad Kitty drove into one another. Bad Kitty quickly got the upper hand on OverDrive, tearing a piece off before attacking its wheel and overturning the Carlberg machine. The Ringmaster disables Bad Kitty. Soon after, Bad Kitty toppled over and reversed into the oncoming ring spinner of The Ringmaster, dislodging its drive pods and damaging a rear wheel. Bad Kitty was unable to move, leaving The Ringmaster and OverDrive to fight alone. The Ringmaster serves a critical blow to OverDrive. Still upside-down, OverDrive was unable to get its bar spinner into play as Hannah Rucker drifted into the path of its opponent, sending OverDrive spinning away and shredding its one tire. The Ringmaster delivered a final attack to the immobile Bad Kitty, which disabled its spinning ring, before turning its attention back to OverDrive. OverDrive nudges The Ringmaster. OverDrive tried to clamber on top of The Ringmaster, but could not mount an attack with its mobility impaired. Referee Michael Ayers began a count on the crab-walking OverDrive, meaning Hannah Rucker and The Ringmaster were victorious.

Results

Competitive Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 0

Total Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 1

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship II	Ultimo Destructo OverDrive, Bad Kitty (Exhibition Rumble)	Bite Force

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Step right this way to the carnival of carnage! It's the greatest blow on Earth! It's THE RINGMASTER!"

"Spinning like a pinwheel of death. Buffering... buffering... buffering... it's time for some suffering. It's THE RINGMASTER!"

"This bot is Lord of the Ring so you know what that means... YOU... SHALL NOT... LAST. It's RINGMASTER!"

Trivia

• After The Ringmaster's win over Ultimo Destructo, builder Sean Irvin gave Hannah Rucker a trophy as a means of congratulating her.
• Douglas Palmer was the only member of The Ringmaster who did not also feature as part of the team's other heavyweights, DUCK! and Marvin.