User:CrashBash/2016 Prediction Ranks

=Rivalries= Throughout the history of Robot Wars, several noticable rivalries would occur. Rivalries would usually come about when two robots or teams fought against each other multiple times. Although the rivalries were mostly for show and entertainment purposes only, they were frequently addressed during the series and also in the merchandise.

Rivalries and Grudge Matches
Often during Robot Wars, a robot or team would be drawn up against another robot or team who had defeated it in a previous battle. The first example of a rematch, or grudge match, occured in the Series 2 Grand Final, when reigning champion Roadblock was drawn up against Cassius, who's predecessor Recyclops had been beaten by Roadblock in the Grand Final of the first series. Despite Roadblock dominating the battle initially, Cassius eventually won after flipping the champion against the arena wall.

Afterwards, many teams invariably fought against teams they had met prior. These rematches would often pave the way for a rivalry, although this was not always the case. A rivalry could often cover only two battles, conversely, two robots could often fight each other multiple times without any hint of a true rivalry.

Vengeance
After the first four series, the concept of the grudge match had become quite popular. As a result, the first series of Robot Wars Extreme featured Vengeance Battles, a series of one-on-one battles where two teams who harboured grudges against each other would have their robots fight to settle the grudge. The Vengeance battles ran across the first series, with ten battles in total featuring eighteen robots.

Despite the name, however, only five of the battles were contested as rematches. A sixth battle (against Firestorm 3 and Diotoir) was technically a rematch, but it took place for an entirely different reason. In addition, the very nature of Robot Wars Extreme meant that the so-called "grudges" were not taken very seriously by the teams. The first Vengeance battle held, against Stinger and Tornado, went ahead purely as a filler-battle, whilst a later one between Comengetorix and Bigger Brother, after the former had beaten the latter during the Tag Team Terror, was in reality a ploy between the two teams to fight Sir Killalot. With only one exception, none of the "grudge matches" constituted any true rivalries. "We fought Stinger in a slightly fake grudge match - at least Tornado performed better than our acting!"

- Team Tornado website

A similar series of battles was held during Nickelodeon Robot Wars, with four fights featuring eight robots. Like the Extreme 1 battles, the battles were largely unrelated to past performances or encounters, and not considered the basis of any actual rivalry.