BattleBots

Comedy Central Sports presents the Battlebots.

First, an appetizer of annihilation,

as backlash takes on the crusher.

Then stuff your face with shrapnel.

It's Blade Runner in bad attitude.

You still hungry?

Well, feast your eyes on our third course,

Dissector versus Grendel.

Perch innocently on a San Francisco bay is Fort Mason.

Tonight, it's known as the House of Havoc.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Battlebots.

You're watching the sport of the future,

right here, right now.

I'm Sean Salisbury, and next to me,

the Neutron blonde, Bill Dwyer.

Well, Sean, the tournament continues with the Battlebots.

With robot after robot pounding the titanium out of each other,

night after night, this show has it all.

You know, we've got remote -controlled technical wizardry,

ingenious strategy, and heart-wrenching drama.

These competitors work extremely hard to get here,

and sometimes, well, partner,

they end up carting their Battlebots off

in a twisted heap of metal.

Oh, that sure is sweet to watch.

Our first bout features two feisty lightweights.

It's the crusher and backlash.

Bill's got the breakdown on tonight's first battle.

Thanks, Sean.

Backlash's weapon is a spinning metal disc.

Its builder is Jim Smentkowski from Novato, California.

He is a cherubic 30-year-old.

The crusher's weapon is its wedge shape

and use of kinetic energy.

Its builder, Gus Steyer, has been alive an entire decade.

That Jim Smentkowski, he's one awesome robot builder.

Let's find out more.

Backlash creator Jim Smentkowski is a peace-loving man,

but not in the way the phrase

peace-loving is normally used.

He demolished his first opponent in about 12 seconds.

Pieces were everywhere.

Like the wreckage of his vanquished foes,

Jim's personality is split right down the middle.

I'm going to go over and see if I can help him out,

get back up and running.

Jim from the Nightmare Team said,

yeah, have mine, you can buy it for the event.

So he's always got his fingers in all these different pies.

Even his patriotic neighbors are cautiously supportive

of Jim's robot fighting cause.

I just don't understand why he has to do it naked.

They can stay their distance from my power tools.

We're definitely like that weird neighbor on the block, I think.

I didn't really think that I would be that weird neighbor,

but because of Jim, I am.

We do a head count of all the pets every now and then.

But for all of his BattleBot bravado,

Jim Smentkowski has managed to keep everything in perspective.

I would definitely say that this has reached obsession status.

We're hoping for someday to have that three-car garage

so that Jim can have the one-car workshop

and have two cars in the garage and have a happy marriage.

Before we get to the fight,

we've got Randy and Jason Sklar in the stands

with BattleBot fan, former NBA pro Tom Tolbert.

It's not just laypeople who come out and watch this event.

We've got real sports heroes.

Tom Tolbert, you're in the house.

What do you think, you having fun?

Oh, it's unbelievable.

Anytime you get organized mayhem, I'm all for it.

You got to love it.

I'm all for it.

And you got the contact.

Yeah, well, you know what's great about this thing?

First of all, you've got organized mayhem,

which I think everybody loves.

Everybody loves to see a good ass kicking,

well, when it's not on them.

And secondly...

Well, he's got earplugs in.

But secondly, I'm glad these people have an outlet

for their viciousness because if they didn't,

they'd be on the streets.

And I want to get these people off the streets.

Get them in the ring.

Let them do their thing.

Thanks a lot, fellas.

You tell Mr. Tolbert that they are indeed in the ring

and ready to do their thing.

It's down to the arena.

We're on Mach 0.

Have some good stuff.

In the red square to my left,

weighing in at 58 pounds

and created by Jim Smankowski,

introducing Backlash.

Backlash.

That's a good-looking pizza cutter, Sean.

Its opponent in the blue square,

weighing in at 52 pounds

and created by Gus Steyer,

introducing the Crusher.

Original name. You like it?

You know what that red top does?

What?

Drives bulls crazy.

Red driver, are you ready?

Red driver is ready.

You know, when we were watching during the pre-fights

before this started,

interesting enough,

we saw how quick the Crusher was

in just warm-ups.

There we are.

Useful exuberance and intensity.

The box is locked.

The lights are on.

It's robot fighting time.

Backlash and the Crusher.

There's that quickness.

Look how quick he comes out of the chute.

That's what we saw in our study into this guy

before it all started.

Crusher and Backlash.

Crusher, the classic wedge design.

He could only hope to get underneath Backlash

and push him around.

There you see that spinning wheel,

and that goes at a high RPM.

Backlash.

You saw how strong Backlash was in his first fight.

There the smile.

Now we're seeing it now.

Oh, on his back.

Crusher's on his back right now.

Now those wheels, Bill,

I mean, great design by Crusher.

He doesn't stop.

However, the wedge design, useless right now.

Flipped over wedge.

Trying to right himself.

Trying to get himself turned over

so he can at least be on the offensive.

Stuck against the boards here.

Remember, this is a three-minute bout.

There we go.

Backlash just freed him.

Oh, man!

Went flying!

Great use of the kill saws.

Great use of those kill saws.

Jim Spedkowski, the driver of Backlash.

He continues on the offensive.

Still on his back.

You know, the Crusher might want

to try those kill saws again

and flip himself upright.

Take a look at nice patience by Backlash.

Jim Spedkowski, the driver.

Now, wait.

Now, Bill, look at this.

Now, we have not seen the Crusher move.

Is he stuck against that board there?

I think so.

We've probably got about 30 seconds, but here...

Oh, yeah!

Killers are always patient, aren't they?

There you see the Crusher's corner

trying to find out what's going on.

It looks as if he's stuck or incapacitated.

Oh, good help by Backlash

to free him from the boards.

Now he's got him on his side now.

Oh, drops him right back down.

Yeah, he hasn't moved.

There's a buzzer right there.

Victory dance from Backlash.

Spedkowski becoming known for that victory dance.

Looks like he's got it one again.

With a smile on his face.

Great effort by the Crusher.

The quickness just didn't quite work out.

You see, he gets on his back,

and that was the end of this one.

And watch here.

Hits the... Look at that.

It's just perfect the way he went over the kill saws.

Must have got about six feet up in the air.

Sweet.

Oh, yeah.

You see the bent, twisted metal.

Backlash just giving him a little show,

showing the crowd who's the king.

Backlash six months to build.

That piece of machinery obviously has paid off

with some dominance in this bout.

Let's get down for the decision.

43 seconds.