Ever since watching ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ for the first time, I’ve had a soft spot for killer robots. A machine, designed to kill, but deep within there’s a spark of humanity waiting to be stoked. It’s just too compelling to ignore. Which is why, when I stumbled upon the Robot Fighting World Championships (yes, really), I was immediately hooked by all the incredibly dangerous, yet often wacky and personable robots. The designers can’t help but add little anthropomorphic touches to their machines, even if they are designed for a singular destructive purpose.

Watching this is a lot like watching pro wrestling, but the destruction is real because who cares if a robot gets destroyed?

This series reminds me of the old Battle Bots competitions that famously featured the Mythbuster’s Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, and their incredibly destructive robot Blendo. Over the years though, Battle Bots tended further and further toward safety over intrigue, and after a while all the most interesting robot designs ended up being against the rules. The NHRL however have yet to learn that lesson. The rules allow for pretty much anything but explosives, rockets, and firearms. The robots can shoot flames, use circular saws and other cutting devices, rotate at hundreds of RPM, and even flying drones are allowed. My favorite design is Buffalo Wings, a robot that uses two automotive glow plugs mounted on a pair of angled arms to strike down into opponents and melt through their internals.

The weapon system is the most original I’ve seen, and also one of the most destructive.

I hope this series keeps going for years to come and continues to make improvements on the format because it is one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen in a while. It’s hard to believe how few views these matches get when the whole concept is built to highlight robot carnage. If a series of mediocre Transformers movies can make millions, this should be way more popular than it is.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley