User blog:SpaceManiac888/Missed opportunities to see Razer vs Hypno-Disc (and who would have won in each encounter)

With coursework now completed, it is time for me to celebrate by doing a blog I have been thinking about for the past week or so. Whenever one thinks of a dream battle on Robot Wars that never happened, Razer vs Hypno-Disc usually tops many a fan's list, and that is to be expected. When considering the three stars of classic Robot Wars were Chaos 2, Hypno-Disc and Razer, and that two of the dream battles occurred, it is pretty obvious why many fans yearned for a clash between these stars, and were disappointed when it never happened.

But what especially disappoints me is not that this battle never happened. It is just there were so many opportunities to see it occur, including ones where we were just one battle, or heck even one decision away from finally seeing this dream battle commence. Currently, I have counted about seven instances where this battle could have happened, ranking them based on likelihood of occurring. Additionally, who would have won each battle had they occurred in that time period? Let's find out...

7: Series 6

The image proving why a Series 6 encounter was a tough ask

I think it is pretty clear that Series 6 was probably the least likely of any opportunity to see this dream bout. There were two main problems from what I gather; partly, because of the addition of seeds and the way the format was structured, Razer vs Hypno-Disc could only have occurred in the Grand Final. Clearly, the producers wanted this dream battle to go on last if ever happened, and I can understand that mentality. I mean, if you want the Grand Final to be a ratings success on BBC 2, these are the two machines you having facing against each other. Had they hotshot it to, say, the Semi-Finals, sure, they might achieve a temporary ratings boost, but not only would the Grand Final achieved much higher ratings had the battle occurred then, but also hotshotting often causes future episodes to stagnate in terms of ratings because the fans have seen it all.

I will use a wrestling example to justify my argument. Goldberg vs Hollywood Hogan was THE match that all WCW and probably most wrestling fans in general wanted to see back in the late 1990s. You had the undefeated, seemingly unstoppable babyface monster in Goldberg, and the hated but once-loved veteran who had just killed off the fan's hope that Sting would dethrone him. Clearly, this match just writes itself, perfect for the main event of WCW's main pay-per-view, Starrcade. Instead, it hastily took place months earlier so that WCW's main television program, Nitro, could beat Raw in the ratings. It did, achieving its highest ratings at the time. What it lost though was millions of dollars in PPV revenue, and future high ratings just having the two staring each other down! No wonder it ultimately perished in 2001.

But anyway, that's the justification for having Razer vs Hypno-Disc as the Grand Final to top all Grand Finals. But that is a tough ask, considering both machines would have to overcome fierce opposition to even meet each other. And that leads to problem #2; Hypno-Disc was ultimately becoming outmatched by improved opposition. And here's the thing; Hypno-Disc was not a bad robot, it was not even actually "past its prime" as some would argue. Heck, it made otherwise promising robots like Barber-Ous 2 and Bulldog Breed look like Round 1 dropouts. But many machines ultimately were becoming more resilient, and more defensive than they were just a series earlier. Even if Hypno-Disc did beat Tornado or Bigger Brother and Spawn Again, it still had the tough ask of beating either Dominator 2 or Terrorhurtz, and then Firestorm 4. All three of those robots had the potential in them to easily take out the spinner in my opinion. Therefore, the Series 6 opportunity ranks bottom because there were just too many anti-Hypno-Disc machines standing in its way.

But what if it did overcome such opposition and thus faced Razer? Well, it would have ended in disappointment, unless you are a strong Razer fan or major Hypno-Disc hater. It is not that Hypno-Disc cannot beat Razer at all, especially considering the issues 13 Black delivered to the crusher. The main problem is that Hypno-Disc has to play a perfect game to ensure Razer cannot exploit its sides and crush the vulnerable top. If it does, it is game over, considering the damage inflicted or the ability to control the spinner will probably be enough to achieve a knockout. Hypno-Disc was vulnerable to lapses in control; its losses against Pussycat and Bigger Brother prove this. I just cannot see it not many mistakes here, thus meaning Razer wins this encounter.