Ranking the 4-Way Melees of Series 6, 7, 8 and 9

It's been quite a long time since I created a blog, thought I'd try a ranking that's a little bit different. I think most people agree that introducing the 4-way melees for Series 6 was an unqualified success after Series 5's mostly disappointing Head-to-Head format in Round 1. It was successful enough to give us three more series of 4-way melees afterwards, and what better way to celebrate such a beloved opening round format than by ranking every single fight of its kind? I aim to get through a couple of fights per update, but I'm not expecting this to be a blog updated particularly often due to university work, perhaps twice a week.

I chose to rank these 76 melees purely based on how I feel about each fight, not with scoring each battle with marks, and this is strictly my opinion of course, not one where I am trying to be objective. With that out of the way, let's get cracking, shall we?

76. Frostbite vs HIGH-5 vs Supernova vs Wyrm (Series 9, Heat D)

A truly grim spectacle

We kick things off with this Series 9 melee. Clearly set up as a melee for Supernova to go to town on all three opponents, I was really excited to see what this upgraded version of Supernova could do. Sadly, we hardly get to see it at all in this fight. HIGH-5 had perhaps the worst opening round death in Robot Wars since Twister in Series 5 (for about 10 seconds), with a bump from Wyrm killing them instantly.

Yet somehow, this wasn't even the worst immobilisation of the fight. Having remarkably scored a kill, Wyrm decides to drive straight into the arena wall and... it just stops dead. Supernova did get a fantastic initial attack on Frostbite, but this is completely overshadowed by their Head-to-Head encounter later on in the same heat, and it only produced one further attack in the whole melee, chipping away at an already immobile HIGH-5. This should have been perhaps the most destructive-filled fight of the series, yet what we got instead was a terrible fight with three very substandard robots compared to the bulk of the reboot era.

75. Apex vs Crushtacean vs Ironside 3 vs Pulsar (Series 9, Heat D)

Not the last time Apex would take off in this arena...

Yikes, both of 9D's melees have taken my bottom 2 slots. On paper, this looked like a set of robots that could have caused a serious amount of damage in this fight. In reality, what we got was a disappointing mess. A lot of people were looking forward to seeing Crushtacean return to Robot Wars in Series 9, and to see it be knocked out by one Ironside 3 hit so unceremoniously felt like such a waste for a popular classic era robot, especially as we know from Series 7 that Crushtacean doesn't like spinners. Putting it against three felt like the worst possible outcome for Crushtacean.

Apex was arguably even more disappointing though, being knocked out by Pulsar soon after Crushtacean was killed off. That neither of the hits were especially appealing to watch doesn't help the case of this fight either I think, and the lack of atmosphere which many reboot fights had was shown starkly in this fight in particular. I think the problem both of 9D's melees had was that I thought they both looked really exciting on paper for very different reasons, and both failed to live up to the hype for me spectacularly. What makes me put this one just above Supernova's melee is the fact that the KOes were actually because of spinner hits, not because of bumps.

74. Hassocks Hog vs Hot Pants vs Ming 3 vs Spam (Series 6, Heat H)

Did anyone else notice how loose Spam's top panel was throughout the fight?

When I started rewatching every melee for this blog, what took me by surprise was how mixed the melee quality in Series 6 actually was relative to the other three series I'm looking at in this blog. Series 6 is often praised for its melees compared to other series, and while a large chunk of them are still entertaining, Hassocks Hog vs Hot Pants vs Ming 3 vs Spam is certainly not one of them. This is a long-lasting melee, which usually serves this type of fight well, but this one had very little in it which I found entertaining. Ming 3 fails to breach Hassocks Hog numerous times for a crush throughout the fight, Hassocks Hog itself spends half of the fight driving around in circles, Hot Pants dies after its first attack and Spam just sort of survive until the end by doing very little.

The effective attacks are few and far between, though Hot Pants' single axe blow actually wasn't that bad, despite seemingly killing it as well, while Ming 3 does get a couple of good grips on Spam. Ming 3 also got a nice opportunistic attack in to pit Spam as well; I'm not entirely convinced that Hassocks Hog should have been eliminated by the judges considering Behemoth was given the benefit of the doubt later on in the same series at Tridentate's expense, but that may be a problem with that melee more than this one.

73. Cobra vs Kronic the Wedgehog vs Pinser vs The Kraken (Series 7, Heat J)

That the one robot to really do anything conked out is a bitter shame

There really is very little to say about this fight, because as long as it is, very, very little actually happens in it. Did you know this fight is nearly 4 minutes long, and doesn't even have any replays either? Kronic gets a couple of decent attacks early on, as does Pinser, but all of the mildly interesting stuff involving the competitors happens within about the first minute. Cobra loses drive on one side almost from the very start, Pinser has a very disappointing breakdown over the Flame Jet, Kronic is anonymous for half the fight and The Kraken's weapon is just... crap. This melee is a proper yawn-fest. The saving graces come in the form of Jonathan Pearce's commentary in the latter half of the fight, and Mr Psycho trying to run over Cobra.

72. Chimera 2 vs Concussion vs Tauron vs Thor (Series 9, Heat C)

Fear not, fans of Series 9, this will be the last one for a while. This is the last of the three major duds of a melee which I'd say Series 9 produced. This melee completes a bottom 5 which I feel is far below the rest of the pack. Tauron's early immobilisation was really disappointing, especially since its weapon actually seemed alright. Concussion also had a lot of hype going for it from the start of the series, and while it did seem to be the cause of the immobilisations of both Tauron and Chimera 2, it did so without any visual appeal to the audience, and in ways that didn't really bring its spinner properly into the fray.

Thor's also lurking in this melee, and to its credit, gets a couple of good axe blows on Chimera 2, and at least it survived the melee, which is more than can be said for the others; even Concussion lost drive on one side somehow. Chimera 2 itself showed a lot of clear external improvements from Series 8, but still wasn't able to show off its weapon at all, and wasn't able to get under anything at any point. Overall, not the worst of the worst, but a melee which left a lot to be desired thanks to multiple poor breakdowns once again.

71. Demolition Man vs Double Trouble vs Fluffy vs Kan-Opener (Series 6, Heat F)

Great attack, but could have done with being further into the fight

I really wish I could like this melee, but it's one of the few S6 melees where both of the beaten robots get defeated in an unsatisfactory, quick way. While Demolition Man did seem to convince JP of its potential, I'm not sure how many others it did, certainly not me. I certainly believed in Kan-Opener more, but it suffered a case of being unable to let go of its opponent, the first of several instances of this happening. As a result, with Fluffy's attack on Kan-Opener's side, the hammerhead shark conked out, and Demolition Man soon followed.

I liked the aggressiveness of Double Trouble, as it got a few good slams in, but one thing I did realise in this battle: what happened to Double Trouble's front panel? We miss what I can only presume was a very nice attack by Fluffy on its front which tore it completely off, yet it's not even commented on by Jonathan Pearce, let alone seen on camera. There were a lot of sparks in this fight, and I'm one who likes visual appeal, so that certainly was a plus for me, seeing some solid connections from the spinners in this fight later on after the others had already been beaten. What holds this fight back in the end, is questionable editing, and the way Kan-Opener and Demolition Man were both killed off too early; even if one had survived for longer this fight would have been a lot more exciting than it was.

70. Devastator vs Ewe 2 vs Saw Point 2 vs Tornado (Series 7, Heat E)

Hardly devastating

To think, if Series 7 had opened with the reigning champions like Series 4, 5 and 6 had, this would have been the opening fight of the series instead of M2's melee. You can see why Heats A and E were changed: this is a cakewalk for Tornado without being as entertaining as Series 6's own Reigning Champions Melee.

The trouble is that Tornado's three opponents were all unable to do what I think they were meant to achieve for the viewers. Ewe 2 was able to attempt numerous flips early on, but not one attack was really successful, and the flipper did eventually stop completely. Devastator's spinner was very disappointing, and it spent half of its time in the CPZ, the other half getting completely bullied by Tornado. Sawpoint 2 seemed to me a robot that was meant to get completely trashed, but didn't, and actually put on a respectable show for a while at least. Once it did stop working, Ewe 2 then took an agonisingly long time to pit Sawpoint 2. Hardly great defence JP, just poor pushing power from Ewe 2, and then the fight was ended by one of the most unceremonial pittings of all time when Devastator got pincered. Nothing was especially poor about this fight, but there was also very, very little to make people think that there was anything to shout about either.

69. The Stag vs UFO vs Vader vs Wild Thing 2 (Series 6, Heat E)

UFO may well be the most forgettable robot of Series 6 in my opinion. Should have had the Series 7 version ready and here instead...

Not the last time Team Vader and The Stag would meet, but this was the more lacklustre encounter between the two for me. The melee gets off to a good start, with The Stag getting a nice grip on Wild Thing 2, while Vader takes off The Stag's tyre and delivering a decent hit on the pincers soon after. Unfortunately, after this opening exchange, the rest of the melee felt quite limited. Wild Thing 2's weapon caused very little damage to either UFO or Vader, while UFO remained pretty anonymous during the bulk of the fight, only being notable when it came to absorbing a Vader hit and when it pitted an already beaten Stag. and nearly following it in.

Vader and Wild Thing 2's little exchange in this melee also felt very similar to their heat final later on, as neither robot is able to really get on top of one another in a dominant fashion, although it was clear that Wild Thing 2 had the edge both times. Vader's weapon stopping added a little bit of tension at the end as it gave UFO a chance, but it was too near the end of the fight after doing so little to give the decision any room for doubt as to who would go through. We should have gotten The Stag's chicken roasted over the Flame Pit in this fight too.

68. Bulldog Breed vs Kat 3 vs Revenge of Trouble & Strife vs Spin Doctor (Series 6, Heat K)

Bulldog Breed fells the first of the three non-self-righters...

There's no doubting that this was the battle where Bulldog Breed had begun to better itself after a rather weak Series 5 performance, if I may say so myself. It's this form which won the Tag Team Terror in Extreme 2, and just like that tournament, Bulldog Breed cleared up in this melee as well. It got a couple of brilliant flips early on against Spin Doctor and Revenge of trouble & Strife, but I was a bit frustrated to see it fail to self-right, something RoTaS would do in four fights in total, including all three of its defeats. Not really good enough for a flipper this late on into Robot Wars.

Kat 3 wasn't good enough in this fight either, missing its one axe blow before the weapon just stopped working at all. Spin Doctor was felled by a second Bulldog Breed attack, and like the others, could not self-right. At least Sergeant Bash was able to cause some good damage on its underside, and hey, we got a good roll from the Floor Flipper out of it at least! Mind you, Bulldog Breed wasn't the only flipper with initials of BB to singlehandedly beat three robots in a melee...

67. Bigger Brother vs Colossus vs Typhoon 2 vs U.R.O. (Series 7, Heat O)

Bigger and better than ever?

… which leads me into this melee. Like Bulldog Breed, Bigger Brother completely clears up, but I'd argue Bigger Brother does it even more emphatically than Bulldog Breed. The biggest problem with this fight is that Bigger Brother's three opponents all had weapons which failed to work. Neither Typhoon 2 nor U.R.O. showed any signs of spinning, and Colossus' flipper had issues as well. Even Bigger Brother's flipper stopped working after it had already defeated all of its opponents!

Nevertheless, I think this melee is a little more fun than Bulldog Breed's, with Colossus being able to provide some entertainment after already being counted out, and the extent of the damage is greater than that of Bulldog Breed's. Other than that, the two fights are very, very similar, and both are melees I have little desire to rewatch for a long while yet.

66. Beast vs Crazy Coupe 88 vs Gabriel vs Infernal Contraption (Series 8, Heat E)

Technically the most impressive attack of the fight, but it's hardly Apollo or Eruption, is it?

Series 8 becomes the last of the four series to make its first appearance on this list. As much as I enjoy Gabriel, this is a fight which has very little going for any of the four combatants. The most notable attacks come from Beast, a grand total of 2 at that, while Gabriel was able to get a couple of glancing blows on Infernal Contraption.

Sadly, the other two didn't even get that. Infernal Contraption spent most of the fight out of control, before falling into the pit, while Crazy Coupe seemed to be completely forgotten altogether, becoming immobilised after driving into the clutches of Dead Metal. Unfortunately, there's little to say about this fight, because it's just so... empty. Thankfully it didn't drag as it was over in about 70 seconds, so it isn't as low as something like Pinser's melee, but it's not a fight worth shouting about either.

65. Bamm Bamm vs Black and Blue vs Daisy-Cutter vs Firestorm 5 (Series 7, Heat P)

And so a two-time Dutch Grand Finalist falls just like that

There is no doubt that Firestorm 5 performs exactly as it was expected to in this fight. Bamm Bamm was defeated with brutal, no-nonsense efficiency, while Black and Blue just sort of died by itself in disappointing fashion. What bugs me about this melee was how quickly it finished. Bamm Bamm was only able to get one swing in with its hammer/axe before it was beaten, while Black and Blue didn't showcase its weapons at all before one half was pitted.

Daisy-Cutter did get a couple of decent strikes in, but its laborious pace makes it a far less entertaining full-body-spinner to watch than, say, Corkscrew or Typhoon 2. Firestorm 5 did get some good attacks in, but it didn't do it in an especially entertaining manner; it's a robot clearly designed to win first unspectacularly and possibly mess around later, which is by no means a bad thing, but reduces its entertainment value compared to the Gravitys or Tsunamis of this series.

64. Chaos 2 vs Destructosaur vs Iron-Awe 2 vs Mighty Mouse (Series 6, Heat C)

A glorious moment, but not enough to save the rest of the fight

I think I might get butchered for this. The Chaos 2 flip on Iron-Awe 2 was genuinely fantastic, and one of my favourite Chaos 2 OotAs, but the rest of the fight is... terrible. That this one special attack happened so early in the fight doesn't help it either. I've never found Mighty Mouse's running away act particularly funny or entertaining, it's JP's commentary more than the act which makes it slightly enjoyable; Chaos 2 also doesn't get another flip in the fight at all for the two minutes after Iron-Awe 2's exit, while Destructosaur went out with a whimper, and the Floor Flipper throw on it may well have been the worst that I can remember off the top of my head.

63. Crushtacean vs Dantomkia vs Doctor Fist vs Mr Nasty (Series 6, Heat C)

This needed to happen later on in the fight

Now I'm an enormous Dantomkia fan, and on a personal level I do enjoy this fight simply because it's a dominant Dantomkia victory. However, I must also look at other areas of the fight in this ranking besides its dominance. Doctor Fist is removed from the equation of the melee as soon as the battle has begun, while Mr Nasty's aerial was removed far, far too early and easily by Crushtacean, removing all tension from the fight.

Dantomkia was still able to put on a bit of a show at least, getting several good attacks on Mr Nasty and Crushtacean, beating the latter all by itself in a fashion that keeps the fight going in an entertaining way despite it being already over, something Chaos 2's melee in the same heat lacked for me. That is the sole reason for ranking this melee above Chaos 2's for me; the dead air of the already finished fight at least being filled by some decent attacks.

62. Constrictor vs Fluffy vs Killer Carrot 2 vs Scarey-Go-Round (Series 7, Heat F)

Behold your melee winners

When ranking the melees, I was surprised to see how long this one is, but I do stand by it. The initial damage caused by Fluffy on Scarey-Go-Round is immensely enjoyable, and Scarey-Go-Round in general is entertaining to watch in its suffering, despite doing little aside from being ripped apart and driving over the Flame Pit at the end.

That being said, Killer Carrot 2 and Constrictor are, as a duo, the least impressive winners of any four-way melee ever, and by a landslide. Neither robot completes a good attack, just a lift here and there; they simply got through on the judges' decision because Scarey-Go-Round stood no chance against any competitor, and Fluffy, by far and away the most dangerous robot in the battle, burnt out its weapon and seemed to lose drive on one side almost immediately. This is a fight which had a lot of potential, but was sadly lost in Fluffy's all too familiar reliability issues.

61. Gyrobot vs Jackson Wallop vs Killerkat vs Terrorhurtz (Series 7, Heat B)

Hardly able to land on its feet

Terrorhurtz's loss before the fight even begins immediately docks this fight some points, but what about the rest of the fight itself? Well, to be frank, not the best. Killerkat looked like a clear weak link, having the weakest armour, the worst manoeuvrability and the smallest weapon range of the three spinners, and it got predictably taken apart.

Even then though, it took a while for any real damage to set in. Gyrobot's attacks all felt completely meaningless; instead it was Jackson Wallop who was able to deliver some decent hits. It scored the hit which turned Killerkat over and ripped it open, showing some good aggression throughout the fight. Unfortunately, with Killerkat struggling for movement the whole fight, and no fourth robot to keep the fight going, this melee feels slow and inevitable with its result, compared to some of the others on this list. Some nice hits plus a bit of fire at the end, but this was the first all-spinner melee we ever got if I remember rightly, and it was hardly a destruction-fest, was it?

60. Edge Hog vs Inshredable vs Terror-Bull vs Tornado (Series 6, Heat G)

Bullseye!

It's rare to see the worst robot of a 4-way melee survive when there are two eliminations to be had, but that was certainly the case here. Edge Hog has never been able to replicate its recently discovered Dutch Robot Games success on TV, and it took one big hit from Matilda to kill it. Inshredable, to its credit, was an absolute unit; it took so much damage from the House Robots and was shunted everywhere by Tornado, yet still it persisted, still it fought on, and it outlasted Terror-Bull, who suffered one of the cleanest, most surprising pittings I've ever seen.

This fight is frustrating more because it reduced the second round than because of the quality of the fight itself. Inshredable was a complete free pass for Anarchy after the damage it suffered, whereas both Terror-Bull and Edge Hog would have given it a much better fight. Alas, it was not to be. A solid fight in my eyes, but one which handicapped Round 2 for what was otherwise an enjoyable heat for me.

59. Mega Hurts LT vs Revolution 3 vs St. Agro vs The Scrapper (Series 7, Heat H)

Thrown out with the rest of the junk

None of the robots in this melee are particularly big names, nor do any of the weapons stand out. Only St. Agro's double-flipper design feels like a stand-out piece, but Wheely Big Cheese already did that more spectacularly. And yet the fight we got was fairly tidy to start with. St. Agro got a couple of nice flips on Mega Hurts LT, while Revolution 3 caused some damage to the side of The Scrapper. St. Agro even delivers a nice little OotA on The Scrapper, not a robot I expected to see complete such an achievement.

Sadly, soon after this, the battle takes a dive. Mega Hurts LT and Revolution 3 both die one after the other, and St. Agro's flipper stops working as well. The whole fight just slows down a lot for me, and the House Robots took what felt like an age to dispose of Mega Hurts LT. A good first half, but a very weak second.

58. Barber-Ous 2'n a Bit vs Leveller 2 vs Tetanus Booster vs Thunderpants (Series 7, Heat E)

I wonder which of these went through...

Unlike the other Series 7 three-way melee, this had some genuinely impressive moments. What holds this back is how short the fight is before it's technically over. Barber-Ous 2'n a Bit produces a couple of tremendous hits against Leveller 2, but breaks down shortly after. This is a real shame, as Barber-Ous looked even better here in my mind than it had done in its Series 6 melee.

What keeps this fight at a higher place than some may expect, is that the damage was at least able to continue after Barber-Ous 2'n a Bit died, thanks to Tetanus Booster completely shredding the back of Leveller 2 open. Leveller 2 honestly did quite well to survive as long as it did, I'm not sure how many other robots could have stood up internally to similar punishment. Once again though, the lack of a fourth robot (cheers Thunderpants) hinders the fight, and had it been able to continue with a third robot still alive, I think this fight would have had real potential to place very high up this leaderboard.

57. DisConstructor vs Hammerhead 2 vs Iron-Awe 2.1 vs Xenomorph (Series 7, Heat O)

Last I checked, hammerheads weren't flying fish

This melee isn't as bad as Craig Charles made it out to be post-battle, but it is still a melee which is carried by the contributions of one robot. DisConstructor's suicidal pitting was a proper facepalm moment early on in the fight, leaving Iron-Awe 2.1 to carry out all of the interesting attacks. Hammerhead 2 and Xenomorph both fail to get any proper attacks in during the whole 5 minute bout, whereas Iron-Awe 2.1 got some neat flips and axe attacks in, not to mention having a go at Sir Killalot!

Iron-Awe 2.1's contributions are enough to warrant this being a rewatchable melee, and some people will find DisConstructor's moment hilarious, though I can't say I was one, as it looked like the second most dangerous robot in the melee by far to me. If it had happened later on in the fight, sure, but it fell way too early for me, reducing any potential damage to nil, par a couple of cosmetic pieces off of Sir Killalot.

56. Bulldog Breed vs Infernal Contraption vs Jabber vs Mantis (Series 7, Heat K)

Was Bulldog Breed Praying at this point?

Bulldog Breed's second four-way melee resulted in a far less impressive individual performance, despite being the seed in the heat and facing two newcomers, plus a Series 6 Round 1 loser. It only got a couple of attacks in on Infernal Contraption before the talking point of the fight appeared: its mesh. It was claimed to be used to protect the cylinders, and while there's no reason not to believe them, Bulldog Breed was, I think, slightly fortunate to get through with pretty much no punishment.

Instead, the punishment came from Mantis in this fight, dealing with Jabber easily early on, before taking on the seeded Bulldog head-on without fear, outfighting it and ending up on top in the closing moments. We also later found out that even Infernal Contraption had damaged Bulldog Breed, though it's not really something I would consider boosting this melee's score for, given we couldn't tell at the time in the fight. Jabber's near anonymity lets the melee down a bit for me, but the other three all contributed well, and the mesh did at least add a bit of tension to the Judges' Decision.

55. Barbaric Response vs Robochicken vs Spirit of Scorpion vs X-Terminator (Series 6, Heat B)

A frustrating end to a promising fight

It's a shame to put this melee so low, because this fight is enjoyable for the first two-thirds or so. Every robot is active without being spectacular, and everyone seems like they can keep going. X-Terminator's KO attack on Robochicken was a really neat trick, using the axe to flip Robochicken over. Unfortunately, the fight loses all of its momentum with Robochicken's fall. Barbaric Response and Spirit of Scorpion appear to die simultaneously about 20 seconds later, and Refbot's counter doesn't work, leaving us with no idea who is going through with X-Terminator and who is going out.

It appeared to be resolved when X-Terminator chose to pit Barbaric Response, yet Barbaric Response went through instead of Spirit of Scorpion. This is a decision I dislike for multiple reasons. Firstly, without the counter working, X-Terminator chose to finish off Barbaric Response with the pitting, not Spirit of Scorpion. Secondly, I actually think Barbaric Response was immobile before Spirit of Scorpion; if you watch carefully from 8:04 onwards, Barbaric Response stopped moving forwards/backwards before Spirit of Scorpion did, by a good 2 or 3 seconds. The only thing that appeared to keep Barbaric Response from elimination was that it wiggled its flipper a couple of times, but that should qualify as an immobilisation based on the rules Robot Wars has. At the same time, on a more personal level, this prevented us from Firestorm 4 vs Spirit of Scorpion, which would have been a nice little clash after their Series 4 Tag team campaign together. Overall, this is a frustrating melee which started out promisingly, but ended up mired in controversy, damaging its chances of a Top 50 finish at least. But hey, at least we got our first ever Drop Zone attack!

54. Chimera vs Draven vs Foxic vs M.R. Speed Squared (Series 8, Heat B)

Trouble and strife in store for Chimera

Relish it while you can guys, it's a fight where M.R. Speed Squared actually causes some decent damage. While Chimera and Draven are far from the most well armoured robots, it was still a nice spectacle to behold; seeing such a huge wheel be completely gouged open was a really enjoyable experience, as were the slices dealt out to Draven's side.

What holds this fight back is the complete lack of threat from the other robots. Draven is the only other robot to attack an opponent, bumping into Foxic a couple of times and foolishly taking on M.R. Speed Squared head-on. Foxic survived despite doing nothing, while Chimera was never able to demonstrate its weaponry at all. A nice little bout of destruction, but there are a lot of better fights to look for it than here anyway.

53. Araknia vs Hellbent vs I Bot One Beta vs Mean Streak (Series 7, Heat G)

Incy wincy Hellbent, controlled the total bout. Down came its weapon, to conk the spider out

There was a time when a lot of people highly rated Hellbent as a robot, and quite a few still do to this day. That's all down to this fight, but the truth of the matter is that its weak opponents hardly put up a fight. Araknia was the biggest joke-bot of Series 7 going, except for perhaps Scarey-Go-Round, a huge, carbon fibre armoured machine with the devastating power of Riptilion. Amazingly, it survived longer than one of this melee's other robots. German machine I Bot One Beta may well have had the most forgettable campaign of any robot in Series 7 thanks to its early defeat without doing anything, while Mean Streak did little but take punishment from Hellbent.

It's all sounding a bit negative so far, but actually, this fight is better than I've made it out to be so far. Hellbent did as well as it could have done against such weak robots, utilising both of its weapons effectively, producing good damage, control and aggression all round. It was also very fun to watch Araknia slowly fall apart and end up cooked, Mean Streak did take the damage to it well, which kept the fight going, and I Bot One Beta rolled majestically along the floor after being tossed into the air by the Floor Flipper. This is by no means a competitive fight, but it's still good fun to watch, with plenty of cosmetic damage, even if the fight is a little on the slow side at times.

52. Bigger Brother vs Killer Carrot 2 vs Major Tom vs Riptilion (Series 6, Heat L)

Killer Carrot 2 never did flip a robot completely over, but this was probably the closest it came.

As I have mentioned in the past, Major Tom is a machine I enjoy watching far more in spectacular defeat than in its victories. This melee is probably its least spectacular of said defeats (except maybe the E1 Tag Team Terror), but it's still an enjoyable one all the same. Bigger Brother and Killer Carrot 2 got some nice attacks in on it, and it took a hefty amount of punishment from the House Robots and the Drop Zone too.

The rest of the fight isn't quite as strong for me. Bigger Brother has a great early attack on Riptilion, and while the engagements it has with Killer Carrot 2 don't set the world alight, they keep the fight going well enough with visually appealing flips. Riptilion was a bit disappointing to be honest, and the terrible control it showed to pit itself wasn't nearly as entertaining as many other self-pittings seen over the years. Not a bad fight overall, but not quite entertaining enough all the way through to breach the top 50 for me.

51. Expulsion vs Foxic vs Heavy Metal vs M.R. Speed Squared (Series 9, Heat C)

A calculated attack by M.R. Speed Squared

It may come as little surprise to see M.R. Speed Squared and Foxic's second melee clash in 2 series appear shortly after their first. M.R. Speed Squared actually appears more dangerous in this melee than the Series 8 one, and it appeared Foxic would prove stronger this time around as well. While it's quite a short melee, I enjoyed a lot of what we got here. The biggest disappointment was Expulsion, who showed very little movement throughout the fight, and we saw nothing from the spinner itself. Happily, this meant the other robots could attack it strongly, with Foxic getting some nice drives in underneath Expulsion, whilst M.R. Speed Squared caused some decent damage as well, and Heavy Metal got a couple of nice shoves in too.

Unfortunately Foxic's driving error proved costly, as it couldn't self-right when the Floor Flipper tossed it over. This was a bit frustrating, as it had been working pretty well on its wheels and had been driving reliably, although it may have been for the best, as it appeared Heavy Metal had lost drive on one side anyway, not to mention M.R. Speed Squared appeared to lose power to its spinner as well. Overall, it's a solid melee, and one which I enjoy now far more than I did on first time viewing, but we've reached the stage where I enjoy a large portion of the time seen from every fight left on the list, and it's just not exciting enough across damage, aggression or durability criteria to finish higher for me.

50. Atomic vs Cygnus X-1 vs S.M.I.D.S.Y. vs Terror Turtle (Series 7, Heat G)

Screenshots don't capture how smooth this OotA seemed to me

I don't know if I've said it before, but I feel like Atomic is one of those robots whose fights you would enjoy if you like Atomic, but you'll find mostly uninteresting if you don't care for it. Happily, I do enjoy watching Atomic for the most part, and this fight showcased how much it had stepped up since we'd last seen it back in Series 5. It completely dominated the melee from start to finish, throwing Terror Turtle out of the arena effortlessly, overturning Cygnus X-1 and immobilising the seeded S.M.I.D.S.Y. late on, although S.M.I.D.S.Y. did get some nice hits in early on too.

What I enjoy more from this romp compared to, say, Bigger Brother's Series 7 melee or Bulldog Breed's Series 6 melee, is that Atomic's attacks feel more impactful, more hard-hitting and more visually appealing to watch. Cygnus did seem beaten rather easily once overturned though, considering it's a Series 7 flipper, but other than that, there's very little to complain about in this melee.

49. Big Nipper vs Or Te vs Supernova vs TR2 (Series 8, Heat C)

"Teetering and tottering, goodness me! That was brinkmanship"

Supernova has three enjoyable melees in my opinion, but its Series 8 one falls short of the other two, through little fault of its own mind you. Its KO of Or Te would have been great, if only Or Te had been able to do anything in the fight previously to seem like a threat. It was also frustrating to see TR2's flipper wasn't working, and its lack of pace slowed the rest of the fight down compared to the relatively pacey spinners.

There were some sparky attacks between Big Nipper and Supernova to keep the action going, and the gyration of Supernova and Big Nipper's deflection off of TR2 gave us a couple of nailbiting moments close to the pit seconds within each other. Supernova's gyration, thanks to its imbalanced spinner, did eventually lead to its downfall a little too early for my liking, but it was a really unique self-pitting, and a fun end to the melee nonetheless.

48. 13 Black vs Herbinator vs Lightning vs the Alien (Series 7, Heat D)

13 Black, almost left thunderstruck in this melee

I have a fondness for this melee, perhaps because it's only the second fight I ever watched, the first melee I ever watched, and the opener to my first full episode of Robot Wars. Of the five main fights in this episode, I do think this may be the weakest, but it's still got a few enjoyable moments for sure. Lightning impressed immensely, singlehandedly taking out Herbinator and 13 Black with ease. 13 Black was very sluggish in terms of movement in this fight, but it was still able to get a couple of solid hits in, and the near-miss with the pit was a heart-in-mouth moment for the number 7 seeds.

The Alien had a couple of nice exchanges in this fight too, but its breakdown was rather disappointing, especially since it hadn't shown these sorts of issues in previous series. Herbinator contributed very little, but hey, at least we finally got to see Shunt cause some damage as a result. The battle itself is over in about 40 seconds, too short with not enough big moments to leave a lasting impact. Lightning's performance greatly aids this melee, but there's too much dead air after the battle is already over to rank this higher up.

47. Eruption vs Sabretooth vs Storm 2 vs Terror Turtle (Series 8, Heat D)

The shape of things to come for Eruption

8D gets a lot of plaudits for being Series 8's strongest heat, but I'm not sure I completely agree. One of the reasons is that, upon rewatch, this melee isn't quite as good as I remember it. There's a lot of dead air in this fight, which isn't helped by Storm 2's reduced pace and the ineffective likes of Terror Turtle and Sabretooth. All of the faith for a good quality battle here lies with Eruption, and it does get three very good attacks in, two on Sabretooth and one to hurl Terror Turtle out of the arena, the first of its kind in the reboot, and nothing to sniff at.

Don't let the OotA completely fool you though, as brilliant an attack it was, it doesn't quite make up for a large proportion of this fight. the Hatchling provided some entertainment through its sheer speed sending it skittering across the arena several times, but that's countered by storm 2's shove on Terror Turtle into the arena wall being perhaps one of the most boring effective attacks I've ever seen. Sabretooth's failed srimech meant that once it was flipped, that was the end of that too, a real shame considering how much was going on with Sabretooth here. Eruption and The Hatchling keep up the enjoyment in this fight, but not enough to place it amongst the great tier.

46. A-Kill vs Reptirron the Second vs Sabretooth vs Terrorhurtz (Series 6, Heat I)

Reptirron and flames: name a more iconic duo

Terrorhurtz's leap into the big time was cemented by its destructive win against Panic Attack in the heat final, but this melee was the start of Terrorhurtz's amazing Series 6 journey. It was clear to everyone that it had already improved from Series 5, and while the quality of the robots it was obliterating were incredibly poor, we got to see plenty of visual damage directed at Sabretooth and A-Kill.

I have to give credit to A-Kill. It took a proper beating from Terrorhurtz throughout this melee, but its resilience allowed this fight to keep on going when the others faltered. Sabretooth died just a little too early for my liking in addition to Reptirron the Second being so poor. Still, at least this set Sabretooth up for revenge in Series 9. This is hardly Terrorhurtz's most spectacular fight, but it's a decent exhibition fight, and if you want to be reminded of how good an axe could be back in the classic era against multiple opponents at once, this is the melee for you.

45. Axe-C-Dent II vs Dominator 2 vs Hydra vs Sumpthing (Series 6, Heat J)

Not the last time this would happen to Dominator 2 this series

Overshadowed by its vastly more popular second melee, but this first melee in heat J of Series 6 isn't a bad one either. Hydra's improvements from Series 5 were clear for all to see, taking out Axe-C-Dent II in seconds and posing a proper threat to Dominator 2 throughout the entire melee. Hydra showed good pace and control to overturn Dominator 2 a couple of times, and it took until well into the second half of this melee for Dominator 2 to fight back well against Hydra.

Sumpthing's lack of meaningful contributions are what draw this melee back a bit, and I have no idea what caused its wheel to lock up that led to its immobilisation. The flip on Axe-C-Dent II from the Floor Flipper was a great spectacle, seeing its weapon completely fall apart on impact was very enjoyable to watch. Sumpthing really needed to survive longer to make this a great melee, but regardless this is a fun fight to watch, with some good flips and some nice damage on Axe-C-Dent II to top it off.

44. Edge Hog vs Mega Morg vs Panic Attack vs Spin Doctor (Series 7, Heat M)

Mega Morg and Panic Attack attempting to outdo Tsunami and X-Terminator for unofficial Tag Team assaults in Series 7

The pitting of Edge Hog stuck out to me vividly as a child, one of the most memorable moments of Series 7 before I really got back into Robot Wars. The Tag Team pitting from Panic Attack and Mega Morg felt like a much more earned one than Tornado/Ewe 2's on Devastator, and showed some neat control. The rest of the melee is pretty decent as well; Mega Morg gets a couple of good lifts in, Edge Hog is aggressive throughout, and Panic Attack was well controlled under its new driver getting some well timed lifts in with the forks.

As ever, Spin Doctor had a poor showing, making that 3 from 3 fights in Robot Wars, and the lack of high octane action in this fight means I struggle to place this melee much higher. As enjoyable as it obviously is, there's nothing about it which stands out other than the final pitting, it's just a typical, good Series 7 melee, of which there are many.

43. Aggrobot vs Reptirron the Second vs Ripper vs Zorro (Series 7, Heat P)

Ripper just fills the screen every time it's in view

I think this may well be the definitive battle of two halves in Robot Wars. The first half is action packed, with Zorro getting a fantastic hit on Aggrobot, immediately leading to Reptirron the Second's best attack in its three Robot Wars fights. Zorro's contribution to attacks pretty much ended there, as its spinner stopped and the giant Ripper threw it over with ease. Ripper continues with some more impressive flips on Aggrobot, but after this the fight peters out.

With Zorro's elimination via Refbot's countdown, we got a much slower second half. Reptirron gets another attack or two in, and Aggrobot breaches Reptirron the Second and Ripper a couple of times, but the attacks are largely ineffectual from here, and Zorro gets in the way of the action a couple of times when accidentally righted by Mr Psycho, slowing the fight down further. All in all, the first half was incredibly fun to watch, moving at a hundred miles an hour, while the second half was largely uneventful, and some of the least interesting melee moments in Series 7. Being near the middle of the order seems appropriate for such a polarising melee.

42. Barbaric Response vs Big Nipper vs Kan-Opener vs The Grim Reaper (Series 7, Heat B)

Weak as a melee, good as a Head-to-Head fight

The heat final between Big Nipper and The Grim Reaper is one of the best and closest heat finals of the series, but they also had a good clash in this melee as well. I think in this melee, The Grim Reaper was more clearly on top against Big Nipper than in the heat final. Big Nipper was flipped around more, and was almost pitted, but still got a couple of decent shoves in too.

Clearly the situation with Kan-Opener and Barbaric Response being trapped together for the majority of the fight hinders this melee, especially since both had proven themselves as capable machines in Extreme 2. We know what both are capable of on a good day, but unfortunately the death-grip reduces their impact on the fight to near-zero. As I said though, at least still got a lot of action from the other two, more than enough to make this melee a good Head-to-Head clash if not anything else, and the evenness between Big Nipper and The Grim Reaper set up the heat final well as a result.

41. Dantomkia vs Glitterbomb vs King B Remix vs Overdozer (Series 8, Heat C)

Up, up and away!

When I first heard that Dantomkia was returning in the reboot, the second thing that went into my head was "Oh God, I hope my favourite robot isn't embarrassed with a first round exit" (the first was obviously "Yes! Dantomkia is back!". I was worried by what I had seen of it in Live Events on YouTube with all of its reliability problems and what I knew would be a big upgrade on the best robots for this era compared to Series 7. Happily for me, Dantomkia did not face close to the best of the reboot in its Series 8 melee.

Dantomkia itself performed well enough under its team in this melee, getting some good flips in on Glitterbomb and Overdozer. The quality of its flips on the latter are dampened though, as by this point Overdozer was already dead thanks to King B Remix, whose impressive performance in this melee was a nice little surprise. Overdozer wasn't against a spinner, but still suffered a lot of damage, which was amusing to see. Glitterbomb's axe failed to make an impression, which was disappointing, but alas, I enjoyed this melee for what it was, and the domination of Dantomkia combined with the aggression of King B Remix and the destruction of Overdozer makes this an enjoyable fight, even if it's a bit of an exhibition.

40. Cedric Slammer vs Colossus vs Firestorm 4 vs Mega Hurts 2 (Series 6, Heat B)

Firestorm 4 wasn't monkeying around in this melee

This melee has crept up and up from my initial ranking of it, and now finds itself in a respectable 40th place. This is a proper clean-up from Firestorm 4, seamlessly defeating all three of its opponents one-by-one in brilliant fashion. First it dealt with Cedric Slammer, and showed good control to prise the srimech open, rendering it ineffective. Colossus' weak flipper wasn't good enough to overturn it after Firestorm 4 threw it over, and Mega Hurts 2, who looked the least threatening at the start of the fight, was able to sneak through, though not before being flipped and pitted by Firestorm to complete its rout.

Refbot's broken counter doesn't help the proceedings, as Cedric Slammer appeared righted later on in the fight offscreen. Whether it was through its srimech or from Firestorm 4 remains unclear, and the fight ends with a hilarious nosedive into the pit by Firestorm 4. Whether or not Cedric Slammer or Mega Hurts 2 should have gone through doesn't seem that clear to me either, but the melee we got was an enjoyable, dominant display by Firestorm 4, showing it doing what it did best: displaying great control and brutal efficiency to win its fight.

39. Armadrillo vs Roobarb vs S3 vs Shredder (Series 6, Heat D)

The weaponry might have been useless, but the resilience wasn't, eh JP?

Been yo-yoing about with this melee, but I've left it to settle just before the halfway mark of the ranking. The melee starts off really well, with S3 causing some great damage to Shredder, ripping off one of its spinners and damaging the front as well. Shredder fights back well too, leading to S3 causing some pretty hefty damage to the arena wall. The two machines engage fairly well for the rest of the fight, with Shredder even gaining the upper hand on a few occasions, forcing S3 to take damage from the House Robots.

Unfortunately, Roobarb and Armadrillo both stick out like sore thumbs in this melee. Roobarb falls far too early to a weak breakdown without displaying anything interesting, while Armadrillo manages to survive to a judges' decision with quite possibly the most forgettable display of any robot in any melee on this list to survive a fight. It is because of this that I don't feel particularly excited watching S3 being threatened late on. Yes, it's in trouble, but it never looked like it was in danger of actually being eliminated, and the stakes felt low. Still, there's some good damage from S3 and Mr. Psycho in this fight, and the resilience and control of Shredder keeps part of the fight going in some inkling of quality, instead of sinking into oblivion.

38. Kill-E-Crank-E vs Nuts vs Razer vs Terrorhurtz (Series 8, Heat A)

Nuts joins the illustrious club of Inquisitor, Aggrobot and Pussycat in going unbeaten against Razer

Ah, the first fight of the reboot. This opening melee to a new era of Robot Wars felt more like two sets of Head-to-Heads being mashed together into one arena. Razer and Kill-E-Crank-E were engaged with each other for most of the fight, while Terrorhurtz chased after Nuts for the whole melee as well. There aren't really any standout attacks in this melee, but the general action was varied and good fun. Nuts was able to spin around madly and generally act the enjoyable, silly part well. Razer got some decent grabs on Kill-E-Crank-E and the minibots of Nuts, while Terrorhurtz achieved some good hits on the main body of Nuts.

One has to wonder if Razer was deliberately targeting Robin Herrick's machine for revenge, but alas, it still could not achieve victory against Team Cold Fusion. Razer's fall into the pit with Kill-E-Crank-E was admittedly an anticlimactic end to one of Robot Wars' most famous machines, but considering how enjoyable the rest of the episode was, I'm not going to complain too much. Kill-E-Crank-E wasn't able to get its weapon into play at all sadly, and I would have liked to see some more engagement from Razer with Nuts and Terrorhurtz, but regardless, everyone played their part in this melee, and it was a fun watch for me.

37. 13 Black vs Chompalot vs Stinger vs Thermidor 2 (Series 6, Heat F)

Chompalot's weapon was pretty toothless in this melee, but it still performed well

Some may be surprised to see this being the lower of the two Chompalot/Thermidor 2 melees, and so was I at first. The melee doesn't start too hotly; I felt like Thermidor 2 lost drive on one side too easily, and it wasn't completely obvious whether or not Stinger or 13 Black KOed it to me. The rest of the melee is a lot better though; after falling early in Series 5, 13 Black performs strongly here, taking out the plucky Chompalot, and later Stinger as well seemingly.

Chompalot may have entered the arena with a compromised jaw, courtesy of some protective foam, but it still performed valiantly against tough opposition, getting a good grab on 13 Black and being a nuisance to Stinger at times, all while taking a fair amount of damage before inevitably succumbing. Stinger didn't perform too well in this melee to be honest, but it made the fight more exciting anyway, almost being pitted by 13 Black early on, and it was also amusing to watch Thermidor 2 pit itself after being counted out. This melee had some underperformances for sure, but the action from 13 Black and Chompalot was entertaining enough to mask most of it and we were treated to a good spectacle here.

36. DisConstructor vs Shockwave vs Thor vs Tough as Nails (Series 8, Heat B)

Tough as Nails vs Storm 2, except this time Storm 2 is two robots

Three returning robots in a reboot melee? Feels a bit odd. Just like in its Series 7 melee, we hardly see DisConstructor at all, being bullied early on, thrown by the Floor Flipper and dumped into the pit through an impressive Shockwave manoeuvre. I still think it's a fairly exciting opening few moments though; demonstrating the Floor Flipper's power better than many other attacks did, and Tough as Nails showed no fear going after the spinner early on with some aggressive charges.

Tough as Nails was a bit unlucky to come up against two incredibly powerful, pacey pushers in Thor and Shockwave for this melee, considering what sort of machine it is, but I think it held up long enough to give us a good melee of action, with plenty of shoves and hits coming in courtesy of Thor. Tough as Nails' immobilisation felt like an earnt KO, and didn't feel too dragged out to me, and Thor was impressive enough to keep the tempo of the fight going at a good pace.

35. Behemoth vs Bonk! vs Carbide vs The General (Series 8, Heat A)

Generally, this was an enjoyable melee

Ah yes, the fight which started off all the memes of the reboot. But before losing the wheel, The General had been putting on a decent performance against strong opposition, something I think gets a bit lost with all the memes surrounding its defeat. It flipped over Behemoth with one of its attacks, and its armour stood up well to the first Carbide hit. Carbide itself looked strong in this melee throughout, landing some good shots on both The General and Bonk!.

Behemoth, too, looked better than ever before, with more pace and power, throwing The General over and getting revenge on Team Mute by overcoming Bonk!. Bonk!'s dodgy axe failure sours this melee a little, as it meant that it couldn't dish out any attacks, nor self-right when it otherwise could have. Still, this melee has a decent amount of damage and plenty of aggression, so it's earnt a comfortable top half finish.

34. 4x4 vs Barber-Ous 2 vs Granny's Revenge 2 vs Hypno-Disc (Series 6, Heat K)

That's no way to treat an old lady!

This is a fantastic melee with a couple of small problems. 4x4 does almost nothing but force a cloth onto Barber-Ous 2's spinner, and Barber-Ous 2 itself died a very unceremonious death after taking out Granny's Revenge 2 and 4x4 itself. That said, the rest of the melee has some of the biggest hits in Series 6, and almost gave the UK its first spinner OotA from a competitor. Who'd have though a plastic barber pole would be so close to this achievement against an old woman in a wheelchair?

The damage dealt out to Granny's Revenge 2 from Barber-Ous 2, Sergeant Bash, Hypno-Disc AND the Drop Zone is all very appealing to watch; the latter is one of my favourite Drop Zone moments after Niterider spiking the TV and Major Tom being smashed in the E2 Annihilator. Barber-Ous 2 being OHKOed by Hypno-Disc felt like a bit of an abrupt end to the opening moments, but the carnage it helped to deal out beforehand propels this melee into a respectable position in the list.

33. Behemoth vs Derek 2 vs Disc-O-Inferno vs Tridentate (Series 6, Heat L)

Down, but not out yet

Following its victory in its Annihilator, we didn't see Disc-O-Inferno in Series 5, but it returned in Series 6 to continue where it had left off. After we saw an impressive Behemoth attack on Derek 2, Disc-O-Inferno got some terrific early shots in on both, before immobilising Tridentate as well. Whether or not Behemoth should have gone first is up for debate; while it lost drive on one side it did seem capable of moving outside of its own circumference long enough to outlast Tridentate in my book, although maybe that was due to Disc-O's numerous attacks.

I liked the look of Derek 2 in this melee to be honest; while its weapon didn't get to see much action, it displayed good pushing power against Behemoth, and it's a shame it broke down so early on. Tridentate may have been able to plead a case for going through, but it was easily the least effective robot in the melee, and was torn apart with ease, adding nothing useful to the melee. I enjoyed watching Behemoth get taken apart a bit more than I expected to; Disc-O was able to achieve what Hypno-Disc could not, and kill it with its horizontal spinner, causing some fantastic damage to the scoop along the way. Almost seemed fitting that the three robots all killed by Disc-O-Inferno ended up in the pit together at the end.

32. Corkscrew Two vs Demolition Man 2 vs Judge Shred 3 vs Mute (Series 7, Heat L)

Corkscrew Two was sentenced to exile from the arena with a brilliant OotA

Demolition Man arrived with some hype in Series 6, but there was no disguising its second incarnation here. Despite a promising looking weapon, Demolition Man 2 was as trash as its predecessor, showing little mobility at all. Corkscrew Two certainly had plenty of mobility, but its weapon didn't work, so it felt like more of a question of when rather than if Judge Shred 3 and Mute would win this melee. Judge Shred 3 got some good early flips in on Corkscrew Two, and while Mute was aggressive, it was disappointing to see so little action from the weapon, only really getting one good attack in on the immobile Demolition Man 2.

Judge Shred 3 continued to bully Corkscrew Two to keep up the entertainment though, and eliminated the Scottish machine with a fantastic OotA, one of my personal favourites of the series. It was amusing to watch Judge Shred 3 fail to flip Demolition Man 2 into the pit in the style of M2 against Tiberius 3, and after some weak performances in previous series, it was reinvigorating watching this team perform well with a far superior machine to previous entries. The performances and lack of interesting action from the other three hold this melee back a bit, but on the whole it's still a fun exhibition of a melee to watch.

31. Short Circuit vs Spawn Again vs Supernova vs Tiberius 3 (Series 6, Heat H)

All went a bit pear-shaped for Tiberius 3 after this

Under the experienced Team Trinity, Supernova had shown a lot of promise in its Series 5 debut against Behemoth, but I think it was this melee which really put it on the map. Tiberius 3 and Supernova had an interesting engagement early on, with Supernova smashing into Tiberius 3's front a couple of times, before the crusher eventually got a grip. This led to a very bizarre moment, as Tiberius 3's crusher bent completely out of shape upon piercing Supernova, unlike anything we'd seen before.

I was very impressed with the way Supernova KOed Tiberius 3, spinning it across the arena with a fantastic collision straight into the back of the crusher, killing it instantly. Spawn Again gets its one good flip in to finish off Tiberius 3, and Supernova dishes out even more punishment to Short Circuit, decimating its spinner and side armour. Sir Killalot's breastplate randomly falling off adds some hilarity to the fight too. Spawn Again's ponderous nature is disappointing to be sure, but it does allow Supernova to shine bright in this melee, and sets us up for the shock in the heat final well too.

30. Apollo vs Coyote vs Ms Nightshade vs Rusty (Series 9, Heat E)

Ceros 1 probably would have put up a better fight than Rusty

Quite a predictable romp for Apollo, but this melee is still a lot of fun, although not without flaw. Ms Nightshade's lack of movement severely dampens its fun-looking nature, and Rusty dies a little too easily for me. That said, this melee produces some of the best flips in all of Series 9, thanks to Apollo. It gets a lot of height flipping Ms Nightshade, and launching Rusty across the arena caused the sort of damage rarely seen from flipper attacks. Ms Nightshade getting dragged across the floor by Dead Metal was enjoyable to watch too.

Coyote stays out of the way in this melee for the most part, attacking Ms Nightshade early before taking a couple of flips from Apollo well, but for the most part it did nothing. Not that it matters though, since the attention was always going to be on Apollo, and it makes good use of the launcher throughout. This melee did its job well, reintroducing the champion with a destructive, comfortable battle against a varied set of robots. It's a clear example of an exhibition round 1 fight for a champion, nothing unheard of before now, and it's certainly a more entertaining Champion's melee than Tornado's was.

29. Chompalot vs Ironside 3 vs Pulsar vs Thermidor 2 (Series 8, Heat E)

Chompalot beating a future Grand finalist in the reboot? What a world we live in

The star of this melee, amazingly, is Chompalot. You'd think a robot like Chompalot would be totally out of its depth in the reboot of Robot Wars, but it put on a heroic display in this melee. It won its own private duel with another classic-era machine in Thermidor 2, survived a ton of damage from Ironside 3, almost pitted itself in nailbiting fashion, and outlasted Pulsar, an eventual Grand Finalist only thanks to Chompalot's own misfortune in the next round.

Ironside 3 looked strong in this melee too, ripping away a side panel from Chompalot and knocking out one half of Pulsar's drive, showing itself to be by far and away the most effective machine in the melee. Pulsar was very disappointing in this fight, but Thermidor 2 was just as frustrating, if not more so. It appeared largely unchanged from before, and it really showed, never properly getting the flipper involved and dying a weak death. Dodgy KOs aside, this is a great melee, with plenty of close calls, aggression and damage, and it's also one of the few melees on this list to have a truly surprising result.

28. Behemoth vs Crushtacean vs Tartarus vs UFO (Series 7, Heat L)

Behemoth was on an absolute mission in this melee

This isn't a heavy hitting melee, but I think there's some really good control on display in this fight. Behemoth was relentless early on, taking out Tartarus within seconds and bullying Crushtacean all around the arena. It almost seemed like Behemoth and UFO were ganging up on Crushtacean in this fight, the way Behemoth was so clearly trying to avenge its Series 5 loss, getting some thumping attacks in and staying right in Crushtacean's face; its improvements since Series 5 were clear as day. UFO meanwhile, weaponless though it was, was able to get some really good drives in underneath Crushtacean, eventually causing Crushtacean to become stuck on the arena wall.

Behemoth's vengeance was completed soon after, but the battle didn't end there, as we continued watching UFO and Behemoth slug it out for a bit, and I hugely enjoyed seeing the driving ability of Mark Hamilton with UFO, the way it was able to worry Behemoth, without a flipper, a couple of times after the battle was technically over. I would have liked to have seen more done to Tartarus after being immobilised, but that's only a minor complaint really, otherwise it was still a good tussle, with a nice side of revenge and control on display.

27. Cherub vs Draven vs PP3D vs Push to Exit (Series 9, Heat B)

Shunt's best hit since Hypno-Disc in Series 4?

PP3D continued to show how much of a menace it had the potential to be, at least early on in a competition, and I'd argue this is their most impressive display in the reboot. It handled cherub and Draven well in the early stages, while Push to Exit showed the sort of pace rarely seen in the reboot. Draven is hardly the most threatening robot PP3D had to face, but PP3D was able to cause some big damage to the sides of it, culminating in arguably Shunt's best moment of the reboot, killing Draven with one clean strike of the axe.

Push to Exit's death was a little underwhelming for me; it's a shame it couldn't handle more than one hit from PP3D, even if the hit itself was certainly more than a glancing blow. Cherub's minimal offensive contributions don't help the melee too much, but it at least demonstrated it was able to survive plenty of hits, and was competently driven throughout the melee. This melee has some great hits from PP3D and Shunt then, but little else to offer in my opinion. Luckily, I really like watching PP3D at its best, so this melee is one I enjoy a lot, and the lack of weapon usage from the other three is more than made up for.

26. Carbide vs Crackers 'n' Smash vs Meggamouse vs Trolley Rage (Series 9, Heat E)

A cracker of a melee indeed

Like Apollo's fight before it, Carbide's was clearly designed to be a bit of an exhibition, for Carbide anyway. However, this one had some more competitive opponents for it to tear apart, at least in my mind. Trolley Rage, to its credit, lasted longer than Ms Nightshade did in the previous fight, surviving a hefty blow from Carbide before succumbing to the second. While I was hoping to watch it get completely torn apart for our amusement, the damage we got was still fun to see.

I think it's a shame Meggamouse wasn't able to utilise its flipper at all in this melee, considering footage of it on the Live Events scene, but its wheels were always going to be vulnerable to an upgraded Carbide, although at least the killing blow on the tyre was pretty spectacular. Crackers 'n' Smash takes quite a lot of damage from Carbide in this melee, and to its credit, both clusterbots survive the pain through to the end, even if their offensive capabilities proved minimal in this melee. Overall, like Apollo's melee, this was a really destructive, entertaining massacre of a melee, and, in my opinion, Carbide wouldn't come close to the level of entertainment displayed here again until the title fight against Eruption in the final battle of Series 9.

25. 8645T 2 vs Mighty Mouse vs Mobot vs Thermidor 2 (Series 7, Heat J)

Thermidor 2 attempts to replicate the way it threw Behemoth out back in Extreme 1

Heat J, for the most part, was garbage in my opinion, with one of the worst heat finals, one of the worst set of round 2 fights, and the worst melee of the series respectively, not to mention a weak side event fight. However, this heat did start off with a fantastic melee, one which showed thermidor 2 at its best since its Mayhem battle against Stinger and Behemoth. While it took a couple of goes to finish off 8645T 2, its OotA on Mobot was glorious, and it cleared up by taking out Mighty Mouse too, something it failed to do in the heat final disappointingly. Mobot's weapon was disappointing for sure, but the team admitted it was "cannon fodder", and we got to see it beaten in great fashion, so at least it achieved something.

The fight itself is over quite quickly, and while the melee itself is a really good Thermidor 2 display, it's the antics after 8645T 2 was counted out which has propelled this melee into the top 25. Not content to sit around being destroyed by the House Robots, 8645T 2 fought back once righted, taking the fight back to the House Robots before being launched by the Floor Flipper. Its self-pitting is also one of my favourites of its kind, with a clear "Enough is enough" attitude, and the melee ending with its axe sticking out of the pit in hilarious fashion. This melee is fun to watch through to the KOs, especially if you're a fan of Thermidor 2, but 8645T 2 elevated this fight even further with its refusal to suffer, and it's a shame the rest of Heat J couldn't come close to what we got in this brilliant fight.

24. IG-88 vs Scorpion vs The Stag vs Tomahawk (Series 7, Heat C)

The Stag, showing off its suicidal tendencies early on

There's a lot of damage in this melee, more than I originally remembered in any case. IG-88 makes a great first impression, swiftly dealing with Tomahawk with some powerful hits. Would have liked to have seen more from Tomahawk, but alas, at least it took powerful spinner hits to kill it, and it suffered one of the most damaging Drop Zone attacks on Robot Wars thanks to the buoy. The Stag was certainly more competent in this melee than Tomahawk, and its performance took by by surprise, after falling so easily in Series 6. The Stag suffered several times from IG-88's weaponry, but was shown to be durable enough to not only survive, but worry Scorpion on a couple of occasions, even getting a decent shove in on IG-88 too.

All that promise was thrown out the window when it reversed straight into the pit though, and hilarious though it was, I would have been very interested to see how the rest of the melee may have gone if The Stag hadn't kamikazed itself. Happily, the fight didn't completely stop, as IG-88 caused some fantastic damage to the uneventful Scorpion, ripping the front panel off completely and tossing it out the arena. IG-88 simply owned this battle right from activate, in one of the most impressive displays in a round 1 melee by any spinner up to this point. I only wish The Stag hadn't displayed a dreadful bit of driving, because then I'd be able to enjoy this melee for even longer.

23. Ceros vs Metalis vs Ming Dienasty vs Scraptosaur (Series 7, Heat H)

2 against 1, but Ming Dienasty fared better than many others would have done in their boots

Many still debate to this day whether or not Ming Dienasty really should have been awarded the spot as the 15th seed, but at least we got a good melee as a result. Ming Dienasty struggles badly early on; Ceros and Scraptosaur simply bully it around the arena. Ceros, in particular, had some great flips early on, managing to take out the lumbering Metalis along the way. That said, I did notice Ceros had slowed down late on in the fight, and generally struggled to get its flipper into play in the second half, not too dissimilar to what happened to Ripper in its own Series 7 melee.

Scraptosaur continued to show some aggression further on into the fight, and, to its credit, Ming Dienasty does recover well in terms of aggression and control, but I can't say I found its attacks especially interesting to watch, considering the drill did minimal damage, and we'd already seen far more impressive attacks from the flippers earlier on in the fight. This, melee, then, is one which I think starts out great, and slows down by the end, but the great moments of this melee far, far outweigh the mediocre ones later on for me.

22. Aftershock vs Crank-E vs Sabretooth vs TMHWK (Series 9, Heat A)

Crank-E was left quaking in this melee

This is the second time TMHWK suffers at the hands of a vertical spinner, this time the much improved Sabretooth, but this time the one to kill it doesn't take centre stage. Instead, that belongs to another vertical spinner: Aftershock. The way it took Crank-E apart was sublime, relentless and devastating. While it was a shame we didn't get to see Crank-E in any attacking action itself, and making it one of the hardest robots to judge in any sort of fantasy tournament, the way it was beaten leaves me with little to complain about.

After three poor series, Sabretooth finally gets to shine outside of the Series 7 qualifiers, shredding the side of TMHWK and one of its wedges. This is probably more overall damage than Sabretooth dished out in any other fight, and while I wasn't on board the #prayforgabe trend, it was still a satisfying performance to watch. Just like in its Series 7 melee, TMHWK was unable to showcase its axe at all, and it's a bit frustrating to see it share such a similar fate to its previous guise, but alas, this is a very destructive melee, with Aftershock and Sabretooth both displaying what a powerful spinner can do on a good day...

21. Corkscrew vs Kronic 2 vs Panic Attack vs R.O.C.S. (Series 6, Heat I)

Has there ever been a more impressive display from a Round 1 loser?

… and on a bad day, when luck just isn't going your way, your powerful spinner will suffer an extremely unfortunate fate. Exhibit A: Corkscrew. Having had a weapon which failed to function in two of its three fights in Series 5, Corkscrew came back better than before, immediately ripping into Panic Attack and Kronic 2, and causing a great deal of visual damage. Unfortunately, its reign of terror was short-lived, as a deflection off Kronic 2 sent it tumbling across the pit, which promptly opened and took Corkscrew down with it. As frustrating as this was to see, what with the pit taking an age to open after the initial release, this isn't actually that controversial to me. If the pit had simply opened up when it was meant to, Corkscrew would have fallen into an already open pit, rather than one about to descend.

Corkscrew's demise was by no means the end of the terrific action either. Kronic 2 recovers well after the early beating it took, displaying some impressive looking attacks to toss R.O.C.S. over, and later took out Panic Attack as well! It's really quite bizarre that Kronic 2 seemed to struggle with reliability in Series 5 and 7, yet it was able to survive what Corkscrew threw at it in this melee before going on to clean it up, scoring a triple KO in the process. It was also nice to see R.O.C.S. get to grips with Kronic 2 early on in the fight; really, it was Panic Attack who proved the most disappointing, in my opinion. Regardless, Panic Attack Gold's weak performance here does little to distil the entertainment of this melee, with a good variety of attacks from a varied field of robots.

20. Jellyfish vs Nuts 2 vs Rapid vs Terrorhurtz (Series 9, Heat A)

No words needed for this moment

Series 9 opened strongly with this melee. Rapid immediately launches Jellyfish high and proud within the first few seconds, and was able to do so again a couple more times later on in the battle, some of the biggest flips in all of Series 9. Jellyfish itself seemed to either have control issues, or simply struggled to get into an attacking position at all, or maybe a bit of both. Nuts 2 was having trouble as well, the Meltybrain system wasn't as effective as it would become in Series 10, but my, my, what a hit by Matilda to fling it out of the arena! Certainly Matilda's standout moment of the series.

Terrorhurtz lurked in this melee a bit. It got several hits in, but none of them felt that impactful, striking a couple of blows on Jellyfish and some late hits on Rapid. The attacks did peter out a little later on in this melee for me, but it was still great watching Terrorhurtz chase Rapid across the arena, a far cry from their rematch in their heat final Series 10 clash, where the tables completely turned. Overall, this melee has some brilliant moments, with some big Rapid flips and Matilda's OotA on Nuts 2 being amongst the most memorable moments of the series for me. Would have liked to have seen more from Terrorhurtz though, and Jellyfish became very anonymous late on, despite technically surviving to a judges' decision.

19. Chip vs NEATer Machine vs Revenge of Trouble & Strife vs Spawn Again (Series 7, Heat N)

A still shot does this wonderful attack little justice

From one of the best House Robot OotAs to one of the best competitor OotAs. Spawn Again wasn't always the most reliable machines to watch, but when its flipper got going, it really got going. Its OotA on Chip is amongst my favourites in all of Robot Wars: clean, crisp, powerful, and completely unexpected upon first viewing for me! NEATer Machine's death soon after was a tad disappointing, but I loved the way its axe point was completely torn off by Revenge of Trouble & Strife, so the melee definitely scores some points there.

The rest of the melee is really a bit of an exhibition from Spawn Again on Revenge of Trouble & Strife. Flip after flip, Spawn Again was simply relentless, and eventually RoTaS's familiar issues with self-righting resurfaced, though at least it survived long enough for us to get some entertainment out of its misery. NEATer Machine's Floor Flipper fail was amusing to watch, and the incompetence of both Dead Metal (briefly beaching itself under the Floor Flipper) and Mr Psycho (almost pitting himself) added to the fun at the end of the melee too.

18. Cyrax vs Ruf Ruf Dougal vs Tetanus 2 vs Weld-Dor 3 (Series 6, Heat A)

Dougal wasn't put down to put it out of its misery, but Weld-Dor 3 was

I've always been a fan of Tetanus' crusher variants, and this is probably its most impressive display in such a form. It concentrated on Weld-Dor 3 all throughout the battle, showing some good, controlled attacks before finishing it off with a clean pitting. It would have been nice to see Weld-Dor 3's flipper in action, but the problems were clear from the start, with a spectacular amount of gas pouring out in the opening moments.

Cyrax wasn't the most explosive presence in this melee, nor was the focus from the camera on it much, but it utilised its axe fairly well, I thought, landing some decent shots on Ruf Ruf Dougal I had a great time watching Ruf Ruf Dougal go up in flames in this melee too. It added some great comedy to the fight, and yet Dougal was resilient enough to survive to a judges' decision regardless, which was brilliant to see. JP's commentary is also amongst his strongest in Series 6 with his delight at Dougal's misfortune. While this melee didn't have any real standout attacks, it was still consistently entertaining throughout, thanks to Dougal going up in flames and Tetanus 2's strong performance.

17. Behemoth vs Cobra vs Eruption vs Hobgoblin (Series 9, Heat B)

If you like flippers, then this is the reboot melee for you!

And so, here is the last Series 9 entry on this list. Don't be put off by the fact the highest Series 9 melee is only 17th, because this is still a very good melee for sure. The only real negative to take from it is Hobgoblin's poor display, but once Eruption eliminates it, the rest of the melee is strong. Cobra may have been unlucky to be in such a strong melee and be ganged up on, but it displayed a lot of pace and aggression to keep itself in the fight. It showed some good tactics too, flipping itself back over the right way via the Floor Flipper early on.

Eruption performs well in this melee, getting a lot of flips in early on Cobra, one of which lead to a great Floor Flipper somersault on Cobra's part, one of my favourite moments of Series 9. Eruption's flipper power seemed to be down a little by the end, but it had done enough by then anyway to prove entertaining. Behemoth, I feel, didn't show a great deal of control in this melee, getting a bit trigger happy on occasion, and a robot with a more active weapon than Cobra would have been able to capitalise on this flaw. That said, Behemoth too got some good attacks in on both Cobra and Eruption, just enough for it to sneak past Cobra on the judges decision in my eyes. This isn't going to be a melee you enjoy if you aren't a fan of flippers, and the whole ganging up element does lead to what feels like an inevitable conclusion, but the journey towards that conclusion is fun, and there's enough aggression shown here to make this a great watch.

16. M2 vs Shell Shock vs Tiberius 3 vs Vader (Series 7, Heat A)

The Force was certainly with M2 in this fight

We move from one of the longest melees on this list straight to one of the shortest. A short fight certainly doesn't mean it's a weak one though, and M2 meant business in this battle. Early attacks on Vader were great to watch, especially the way Vader seemed to almost judder through the air thanks to the gyroscopic forces of its weapon. Shell Shock was the next to feel the force of M2's flipper, and it was flipped out of the arena in fantastic fashion. I haven't spoken much about the camera angles in many of these melees, but it works really well with Shell Shock's elimination; M2's one-two attack is another example of a brilliant OotA, and I'm not sure I've heard anyone speak as quickly as JP did for that attack in my entire life.

Vader does break down a bit easily in my opinion, and it quickly follows Shell Shock out of the arena, leaving M2 as the dominant force of the melee, Tiberius 3 having done practically nothing to get through. While this is usually a criticism, the way a newcomer like M2 just took over the fight from activate was an impressive achievement in my eyes; Vader and Tiberius 3 are no mugs, but they had no answer to M2 in this melee. Tiberius 3 was simply lucky enough not to be the target of M2's wrath in this fight, the way it was going. Great opener to Series 7, and a great melee in general too.

15. 259 vs Aggrobot 3 vs Infernal Contraption vs Infinity (Series 6, Heat E)

Infernal Contraption endured about 2.59 minutes of constant pain in this melee

259's short, memorable foray into Robot Wars began with a devastating display in this melee. While the opponents it had to face weren't the strongest offensively, they were able to take quite a beating from 259. Infinity took some damage to its pincers and was knocked over a couple of times, but for the most part seemed to hold together quite well, only falling after a hilarious reverse-and-spin straight into the descending pit. Aggrobot 3 also absorbed a couple of hits, not the focus of the action, but enough for me to think that the KO loss against Vader in the next round was just unlucky.

The best action, though, was between 259 and its final victim in this melee: Infernal Contraption. 259 delivered hit after hit, almost throwing Infernal Contraption out of the arena, over and over near the pit and completely ripping its guts open. The last charge from 259 into the back of Infernal Contraption made me wince, a rarity for Robot Wars, but it was fantastic to watch. I also loved Infernal Contraption desperately trying to join Infinity in the pit, unable to squeeze in beside it whilst slowly being counted out, definitely one of the funniest moments of Series 6. Comedy and Carnage are the words for this melee, and this is certainly one of the most destructive battles seen in Series 6, finally giving Adam Clark the spotlight after all these years. Aggrobot 3 was pretty ineffectual despite heading through, but the lack of action from it gave more focus on 259, and that's what we all wanted to see, let's be honest.

14. B.O.D. vs Disc-O-Inferno vs Robochicken vs Tough as Nails (Series 7, Heat M)

And with this move, Tough as Nails would go on to dominate classic era horizontal spinners for years to come on the Arena Forums

From one terrifying individual performance to the next. The Dutch certainly knew how to make an entrance in Series 7 of Robot Wars. Tough as Nails' pitting of Disc-O-Inferno was one of the smoothest, most well controlled KOs I've ever seen, making a robot dubbed just the previous series by JP as one which "could go all the way" look like a complete amateur. B.O.D., the real amateur of this melee, was a real weakling, with what I'd call the most ineffective spinner post-weight increase of any robot. While Disc-O-Inferno didn't last long, it was still able to cause some damage to B.O.D. on the way out, and another surprise for this melee came in the form of Robochicken. Robochicken's flipper power was vastly improved from previous series, throwing B.O.D. over with ease and keeping Tough as Nails at bay for a little while, before suffering the same fate as Disc-O-Inferno.

But of course, the star of the melee is Tough as Nails. Its composure, control and ruthlessness in this melee was downright frightening, probably one of the Top 3 individual performances of Series 7's melees. I'm not sure Tough as Nails ever quite reached these heights again after such an impressive display, the only one that could topple it is the Dutch qualifier for the Third World Championships. This melee has a certain shock value that many other melees lack, because while we're used to seeing robots flipped out of the arena this fast by this stage of Robot Wars, a pitting like the one seen here was unlike anything seen in the main competition since Series 3, and those robots were far more vulnerable than Disc-O-Inferno. While Robochicken's plucky improvements help this melee, Tough as Nails' unique style of a quick KO boosts it far more significantly up the list.

13. Dantomkia vs Hassocks Hog 2 vs King B Powerworks vs Rick (Series 7, Heat C)

It's not an explosive melee, but the quantity of good attacks more than makes up for it

I think my Dantomkia bias might be showing a bit again. This is a much more enjoyable Dantomkia romp than its Series 6 melee in my opinion, and that's down to the survivability of the other competitors. Ok, so Hassocks Hog 2 didn't last too long, since its flipper didn't work, but King B and Rick played their part in this melee well alongside Dantomkia. There were some great flips from Dantomkia throughout this battle on all of its opponents; it wasn't so much a case of watching it just dominate the opening moments with tons of flips, but the attacks were measured and spread out, making this a well paced melee when other melees involving a dominant flipper sometimes slowed down in the second half.

Rick was almost thrown out of the arena a couple of times in this melee, the closest being right at the start. Just as well it wasn't though, because a melee with Rick thrown out within a minute here would have placed a lot lower I think. King B gets some good shoves in against both Dantomkia and Rick as well, which was a pleasant surprise to see, continuing its trend of impressive Round 1 performances. Rick did seem to get bullied a bit in this melee, but its resilience was admirable, and rewarded with a late flip on Dantomkia. Even Mr Psycho caused some damage and was a strong House Robot presence, denting Dantomkia's flipper inward, slamming Rick at the end and toying with Hassocks Hog 2. This is just a really consistent melee which went the distance, ending in a close-ish judges decision for King B and Rick at least, and was generally a fun watch all the way through.

12. Hard vs Kat 3 vs T-Wrecks vs Velocirippa (Series 7, Heat K)

Velocirippa may not have won any of its five fights, but if it deserved any victory, this was the one

None of these robots had a great deal of pedigree to them, yet between them we got some really good action in this melee. Hard impressed the most by far, getting some good lifts on Velocirippa and demonstrating decent control to pit T-Wrecks. I also thought Velocirippa was entertaining to watch here, thanks to its great speed and aggression. While its weapon failed to work after its first minor lift, Velocirippa showed itself to be a solid rammer, and this was by far its most impressive fight it ever had on screen, just a bit gutted it pretty much broke down at the end.

Kat 3 was actually the weak link in this melee from an audience perspective I think, never utilising its axe except by embedding it in the floor and then losing the axe point at an undisclosed moment later on in the fight. I think it was very, very lucky that Velocirippa broke down when it did, otherwise Kat 3 was facing a very early exit. T-Wrecks, too, failed to make much of an impression with its inactive weapon, besides one great sit-and-spin hit on Velocirippa, but it still felt like an active presence of the melee before its pitting. This melee, then, had no right to be as good as it was; it only really showcased one functioning weapon between four robots who had little to boast about between them, yet the general pace and aggression of the melee was still fantastic in my opinion, and in Hard and Velocirippa, it highlighted robots which saw very little glory elsewhere in Robot Wars, providing them with a respectable platform that they otherwise wouldn't have.

11. Mayhem vs Rhino vs Storm 2 vs Supernova (Series 7, Heat I)

We wouldn't see a lift like this again on Storm 2 until Series 8!

Wow, this was an intense fight, wasn't it? Mayhem was quickly disposed of by Supernova, a fitting end to a robot which just felt and looked like a second hand Supernova. That didn't stop Mayhem from getting completely destroyed by the House Robots throughout the rest of the fight though. Matilda was utterly brutal in this melee, tossing Mayhem through the air on more than one occasion, shattering part of the arena wall in a CPZ and finishing off what little life remained in Supernova later on in the fight.

Speaking of Supernova, I think it was very unlucky here. As I said, it started strongly, demolishing Mayhem, damaging Rhino and generally being a menace. It didn't count on Storm 2 though, whose debut in the main competition of Robot Wars was as ruthless as it was impressive, shoving Rhino all over the arena, indirectly damaging Sir Killalot through ramming Supernova into its tracks, and later killing off Supernova for good. Rhino did well just to stay alive in this melee, considering the damage it took, both externally and internally from Supernova and Storm 2, and it even got a couple of lifts in on Storm 2, something not even Firestorm 5 managed. This was one of the most thrilling, action packed melees in the whole of Robot Wars, with some powerful spinner hits, equally powerful Storm 2 rams, and uniquely brilliant moments involving both House Robots.

10. Brutus Maximus vs Raging Reality vs Razer vs W.A.S.P. (Series 6, Heat A)

Raging Reality is not a bad machine, but Razer is still 3 or 4 tiers above it, and about 7 or 8 above Brutus Maximus and W.A.S.P.

As we make our way into the Top 10, we reach what is chronologically the first melee of this list. This was the melee which needed to show us that the 4-way melee was indeed a viable format, and boy does it achieve that. Sure, the quality of robots handed to Razer is perhaps the easiest Round 1 draw given to any reigning champion, but the capitulation of Brutus Maximus and W.A.S.P. was so much more than just another opening round exhibition for a defending champion. It was visually appealing, something which was really lacking in any opener for a champion (minus the Indefatigable OotA) up to this point.

Brutus Maximus's wooden, boxy design was clearly built for entertainment purposes, not competitive ones, and the damage Razer inflicts upon it is some of the most seen in all of Series 6. Razer just picked and chose who to go for in this melee, bullying all three of its opponents at one point or another, all with little resistance put up, showing how far above the rest it was. Raging Reality played its part well too, filling in attacks on one weak opponent when Razer was targeting the other. Watching Brutus Maximus' wheel roll into the pit after being dislodged by Raging Reality was highly amusing to watch, as was seeing Killalot attack W.A.S.P., one of the few times his drill was actually any good at all instead of the claw.

Culminating in an OotA from Raging Reality on Brutus Maximus, this battle was perhaps the most obvious example ever of two robots getting a free pass in a 4-way melee, but that doesn't make it any less fun to watch, thanks to the huge amount of damage caused by Razer, the sheer hilarity of watching Brutus Maximus and W.A.S.P. slowly falling apart, and the quiet efficiency of Raging Reality. What a fantastic way to introduce 4-way melees to the main series.

9. Apollo vs Kan-Opener vs PP3D vs Sweeney Todd (Series 8, Heat D)

Less a shark, more a flying fish here

And so comes Series 8's, and the reboot's, final entry in this list. We had a very intriguing mix in this melee, and apart from Sweeney Todd, they were all very threatening towards each other. Kan-Opener put on its most impressive Round 1 loss to date, in my opinion, grappling well with PP3D. Sure, it was disappointing to watch it break down the way it did, but it had already absorbed several PP3D hits and a couple of flips from the Floor Flipper and Apollo, so it didn't feel like the limpest of breakdowns to me.

I went into this heat with Apollo in mind as the favourite for this heat, so I was very surprised when it struggled early on, and was so close to elimination at the hands of PP3D. Nevertheless, Apollo recovered well, and clutched victory from the jaws of defeat with some fantastic flips on all of its opponents, especially the KO flip on Kan-Opener. PP3D, too, put on a great performance, and while it didn't knock anyone out with its attacks here, it landed some good shots, particularly on Apollo with that wheel hit.

Sweeney Todd seemed to go incognito in this melee, only really becoming a part of the action once Kan-Opener was immobilised, and showing very little in the way of aggression or control, but it at least was able to act as a punching bag for Apollo and PP3D, so it served one purpose well. What made this melee so good was that how genuinely close it was in the early stages. Kan-Opener, PP3D and Apollo all provided trouble to one another, the Floor Flipper had a ton of action, and while the attacks weren't necessarily the flashiest, the unwavering number of said attacks more than made up for it.

8. Brutus Maximus vs Pussycat vs Roobarb vs Twister (Series 7, Heat A)

Hardly a wooden performance here

Brutus Maximus of all machines gets two Top 10 finishes in this blog, and why not, this melee is even better than the previous! There's even more damage inflicted upon Brutus Maximus, and the quality of its opponents was more spread out than in Series 6, which meant we got some really engaging encounters between everyone. Twister had a very strong start, shredding Brutus Maximus' side armour and briefly worrying Pussycat a couple of times early on when their spinners collided. Once its weapon was halted though, Twister appeared to struggle badly, and I do think the correct decision was made to eliminate it.

Pussycat was probably the favourite to win coming into this melee, but it had to work hard to get through this opening round. Its durability and aggression won out over Twister eventually, but compared to previous round 1 Pussycat performances in the main championships, this felt like its most challenging. Instead, it was Roobarb who arguably impressed the most. Despite being shoved early on by the lumbering Brutus Maximus a couple of times, Roobarb barely puts a foot wrong in the rest of the melee, picking on Brutus Maximus and causing a great deal of damage with its flips, and scoring some decent attacks on Twister as well. After a poor Series 6 and a mixed New Blood performance, watching Roobarb have a great showing here was strangely satisfying.

Back to Brutus Maximus though, and I do think it has a stronger performance here than it did in Series 6. Not only did it last longer, but it got a couple of good shoves in early, and the punishment it endured would have rendered many other robots immobile far earlier than it, losing a wheel, its spinning device, bits of armour, nuts, bolts; it really felt like a robot slowly falling apart before our eyes, and it was hugely entertaining to watch. This is a melee where everyone has their moment in the spotlight, and it's one of the most lighthearted fights of what felt like an otherwise more serious, competitive series.

7. Shredder Evolution vs Sub-Version 1.1 vs The Steel Avenger vs Trax (Series 7, Heat I)

I didn't expect a machine like Trax to dominate a Series 7 melee

This melee really took me by surprise. There's not one robot here who I'd cheer on on a regular basis, but all four machines have wonderful moments in terms of the aggression, hilarity and damage brought to the table between them. I really wasn't sure about Trax's weapon when I first saw it, and it does seem to only work against certain opposition with high ground clearances and a large surface area underneath, but it was very satisfying to watch it flip The Steel Avenger over with its mechanism, and it completely controlled this melee, finishing with a slick pitting of Sub-Version 1.1.

The Steel Avenger, too, has a few highlights; despite having a 4-5 year old design by this point, it still keeps up with the pack, landing some nice shots on the top of Shredder Evolution, while also showing good control while grappling it over the Flame Pit, and having a more reliable srimech than in the Extreme 1 Annihilator it participated in. I much prefer this iteration of Shredder to the ones seen in Series 5 and 6, and it was finally able to cause some damage in this melee, living up to its name by tearing into the sides of Sub-Version 1.1, and also showing a great deal of speed, early on anyway. Sub-Version 1.1 was fun to watch throughout, almost divebombing into the pit in probably my favourite near-miss pitting in all of Robot Wars, and the wacky design kept me entertained, even if it wasn't always in the thick of it.

It never felt like anyone was in danger of breaking down in this melee, a rarity for a fight containing four robots, and the action was spread out well. That the attacks delivered were dealt out by everyone, not just one or two robots, also makes this a great fight, and the ending with Sub-Version going down with just 3 seconds left gives this melee another standout moment from the rest of the pack. A long time ago in a previous blog, I awarded this battle Series 7's underrated fight of the series; I'm not sure it's underrated anymore. An all-round fantastic melee in which all four robots played their parts well.

6. R.O.C.S. vs Raging Knightmare vs The Executioner vs Topbot (Series 7, Heat N)

I miss these shows

Let me put it to you this way Hammo- I mean fellow wiki users. You can watch better melees than R.O.C.S. vs Raging Knightmare vs The Executioner vs Topbot. But I like R.O.C.S. vs Raging Knightmare vs The Executioner vs Topbot. Yes, only one robot uses its weapon effectively, said robot still loses and its general action is weak, but it's brilli- sorry, I'm paraphasing Top Gear far too much. The point stands though. This melee is amongst my most subjectively enjoyable fights. I wouldn't bat an eyelid if someone else, anyone else, called me out on this melee for being as utterly rubbish as it actually is. In terms of robot quality and action between competitors, this is probably amongst the bottom 3 melees of Series 7. The only really interesting attack this melee encompasses from the four competitors is The Executioner's brilliant opening hit on Topbot, completely ripping Topbot's spinner off within 10 seconds of activate.

Still my favourite Psycho moment

From there, the rate of attacks slows. Topbot has a very near miss with the pit, and R.O.C.S. shows some decent control in trying to grab The Executioner, but it's otherwise a case of all four robots driving around doing very little to each other; Raging Knightmare's flipper doesn't even work in this melee. The "action" moves towards a CPZ, and the shining moment of the melee arrives. Mr Psycho practically crashes onto our screens with a lumbering charge, and his hammer strike on Topbot somehow dislodged his head completely from his body. I have a great laugh at this; it was my first standout Psycho moment, and JP's outraged commentary boosts the entertainment value in the moment as well.

Psycho's resulting rampage seemingly led to the death of The Executioner, landing a couple of great shots on top of the most impressive robot in the melee. Losing the one robot which did anything topped off the ridiculous nature of this melee for me, and we hardly even see anymore from the other three robots, as the camera entirely focuses on Mr Psycho finishing off The Executioner.

It's through this melee that I've come to realise how enjoyable the most random of fights can be, and how you shouldn't be afraid to immensely enjoy a fight that many others probably don't. I think everyone, deep down, has one or two fights they thoroughly enjoy, but which they can't properly explain why. That's very much the case here for me. There's only one good attack, one dance of death with the pit, and Mr Psycho's hilarious participation in this fight, and a lot of things are wrong in this fight. Yet there's not a thing in this melee that I would change, given the chance.

5. Anarchy vs Judge Shred 2½ vs Revolution 2 vs Thor (Series 6, Heat G)

You wouldn't think Revolution 2 or Thor were novices with the way they were driven (pity Revolution 2 was so poor in comparison in New blood)

For a period of time, this was my favourite melee in all of Robot Wars, and I still absolutely love it. It's certainly not a melee which rockets along, but all four robots are actively involved for the majority of the fight. Revolution 2's design is still amongst my very favourites in all of Robot Wars, and it got some good attacks on Judge Shred 2½. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most damaging spinner we'd ever seen, but it was visually pleasing to watch it rotate, and the sparks Dead Metal throws off it at one point are certainly a sight to see. My only real complaint about this melee is that Revolution 2 appeared to have been flipped over, which is why it couldn't move, and we didn't see this attack unfold. Could have been Anarchy, could have been Judge Shred 2½, who knows.

From the 101 team, we get UK Robot Wars' most successful walker in Anarchy. Anarchy used its higher weight limit far better than many previous walkers, fitting a powerful axe and flipper to each end, and using both weapons incredibly well, almost throwing Judge Shred 2½ out of the arena at one point. We were also introduced to Thor in this melee (well, most of you were anyway, more on that in a bit), and it has a tremendous start too, causing some sizeable dents in Judge Shred 2½'s armour, as well as landing some heavy blows on Anarchy too. Poor Judge Shred 2½ took a battering in this melee from all sides, and considering how much it seemed to get ganged up on, I think it performed valiantly just to survive to a Judges' Decision, outlasting Revolution 2 in the process, and getting some decent flips on Anarchy. A breakdown from Judge Shred 2½ would certainly have held this melee back a bit, and i can only commend it for absorbing the punishment as well as it did.

This was one of the most even melees I can remember watching, and for a long time this melee carried 6G amongst my favourite episodes in all of Robot Wars (not something I'd say now). Only Revolution 2's questionable immobilisation due to editing holds this melee back, but even then, the rest of the melee is so damned good that it's a tiny complaint in comparison. Everyone was aggressive, everyone was well controlled, everyone was durable, and we got a decent amount of damage dealt out too. Wonderful.

4. Gravity vs Hodaf the Bad vs Hydra vs Thor (Series 7, Heat D)

Imagine if the camera actually did blow up, and this wasn't a flame jet obscuring it

Dantomkia vs IG-88 may have been the first fight I ever watched, but I believe this was the fight that sold me on re-watching Robot Wars for the years to come. While Lightning's melee had some decent moments, it has no wow factor to it, no memorable big hits to really engage someone as young as I was at the time. This melee, though, is a completely different story. Gravity's first foray into UK Robot Wars still remains the definitive introductory fight for me, with only Hypno-Disc vs Robogeddon coming close (and that impact was lessened by seeing it in E1, S5-6 and E2 first).

The way Gravity went after Hydra non-stop was cold, calculated and utterly brutal, giving us some of the biggest flips of the entire classic era. It hardly engaged with either Hodaf the Bad or Thor, firmly setting its sights on what was probably the second strongest robot in the whole heat in Hydra, and why not, it was still a class above it. Hydra, to its credit, showed far more durability than previous series, and recovered well from the first couple of attacks, throwing over Hodaf the Bad partway along the way, but there was simply nothing it could do about being thrown out of the arena the way it did, Gravity was just too good.

Hodaf the Bad didn't offer too much in terms of offense, but I liked the design, and showed it could recover well by self-righting after Hydra's attack. Thor was the first hammer/axe competitor I had the pleasure of witnessing in Robot Wars, but its blows weren't so accurate here compared to 6G's melee. Luckily, it made up for it with its theatrics while missing, hopping through the air, still giving us entertainment as a result. Watching the arena side wall cave in from Gravity's flip on Hydra was brilliant as a kid; the damage to the camera was great too, and the excitement of those few seconds still holds up its value to this day for me. I don't believe the battle needed to be stopped where it was completely without a restart, but perhaps it was for the best. It left a lasting impression of Gravity's power, and sold me fully on how good Robot Wars could be.

3. Diabolus vs Major Tom 3 vs Tsunami vs X-Terminator (Series 7, Heat F)

The tide came in quickly for Major Tom and Diabolus

The most clear and obvious proof that a melee doesn't have to be long to be entertaining. It's not about the length, it's about the contents within the fight itself. This melee isn’t just the best of Series 7, but also, due to its short length, one of the most rewatchable fights in robot combat in my opinion. There isn't a single moment in this 38 second battle where something isn't happening to engage the eye, and I could watch this fight on repeat half a dozen times in a row without wanting to change to something else. We immediately get to watch the hilarious treat of seeing Major Tom 3's head fall of from a Diabolus ram, X-Terminator and Tsunami get a couple of solid attacks in from the overhead camera angle, all brilliant attacks in their own right which could act as standout attacks amongst a lot of other melees on this list.

However, this melee had barely begun; the good stuff is over within the first 10 seconds, and the great begins immediately after. X-Terminator's decapitation of Diabolus' spinners is probably one of the best individual spinner attacks I can remember in Robot Wars, but there's no room to breathe and take in what we just saw, because Tsunami is throwing Major Tom 3 out of the arena with an amazing broadside attack, somersaulting it out with impressive power. Diabolus continues to take arguably the worst damage seen inflicted on a heavyweight robot since Atomic in Series 5, maybe even Splinter in Series 4, its whole top being torn loose, before being out of its misery with another brilliant launch from Tsunami. I think Diabolus was slightly unfortunate to be drawn up against such ferocious opponents, as it showed decent pace early on. Major Tom 3 always looked doomed, but that’s the way I enjoy seeing them to be honest, yet another entertaining way to go out for this goofy machine.

Between them, X-Terminator and Tsunami pulled off a glorious Tag Team Terror-like manoeuvre – so seamless, so deliberate, and a better display of two-on-two than pretty much any Tag Team fight actually was. After having a weapon which disappointed many for years, watching X-Terminator upgrade to a destructive spinner was hugely satisfying to witness, finally displaying a great weapon to go alongside the solid durability and driving skill it’s always had, while Tsunami’s actions nearly put it on par with Gravity for entertainment value. I could keep going on and repeating myself, but there’s only so much you can say about a 38 second melee, so I’ll end by saying this: Diabolus vs Major Tom 3 vs Tsunami vs X-Terminator proves that just because a fight is short and one sided doesn’t mean it must be dull, and it’s probably my favourite example of an adrenaline hit you could have in Robot Wars. Destructive, exhilarating, brutal.

2. G.B.H. 2 vs ICU vs Sir Chromalot vs The Alien (Series 6, Heat D)

Perhaps the only judges decision in a melee in which not one of the machines felt safe to go through

Some people believe GBH 2 got robbed in this melee, and on first viewing, I remember thinking so too. But after so many rewatches, I've completely looked past the decision, because really, it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, GBH 2 would have been destroyed by S3. I'd much rather focus on the fact that this was one of the closest, most gruelling melees ever in Robot Wars, perhaps the pinnacle of competitive melees. I'll start with ICU: considering it's basically a repainted Series 3 X-Terminator with eyes, ICU put on a respectable performance in this melee, showing no fear, and self-righting well on a couple of occasions. It took a good attack to truly finish it, something which was lacking in its New Blood defeat.

It's the other three robots I'd like to spend the bulk of my time on though. Certainly, I think The Alien had the strongest start in this melee, knocking over ICU, GBH 2 and Sir Chromalot in rapid succession. The Alien also overcame its flaw from Series 5 against Prizephita Mach 2, self-righting well after a good Sir Chromalot flip. While The Alien's weapon did stop working quite early on, it was still able to use its wedge and its front well to shove Sir Chromalot and GBH 2 around a bit for the rest of the melee, and was generally its most impressive Robot Wars fight in my eyes. The same goes for Sir Chromalot, who performed the best in the middle of the surviving trio. It had hardly ever used its flipper to great effect in any previous fight, so it was a pleasant surprise watching it flip all of its opponents over at some point throughout the battle, even KOing ICU long the way. I do think it was the KO on ICU which saved Sir Chromalot in the Judges' Decision, as it didn't look like it had enough gas at the end to self-right, and had been over for a good 20-25 seconds before that, but nowadays, I do think it did enough to go through as well.

GBH 2 was a welcome return for a team whose entries in Series 2 and 3 I enjoyed a lot. Its self-righting was certainly spectacular, and there's little doubt in my mind that on style alone, GBH 2 won one of the four criteria of the judges with ease (why do the front hinged flippers always have such entertaining self-righting manoeuvres?). It also showed a good amount of aggression, and seemed to have the legs on The Alien and Sir Chromalot in this melee, easily having the most impressive finish of the three. However, it was also the only one of the three to take any notable damage, and I don't think it displayed as much good control as the other two, and despite my initial frustration at its elimination, I am far more at peace with the decision now. To this day, I'm still not 100% sure who I think should have gone through. What we can all agree on though, is that few other fights exhibit so many good attacks from all of the fighters. Robot Wars rarely gets any better than this...

1. Comengetorix vs S.M.I.D.S.Y. vs St. Agro vs Warhog (Series 6, Heat J)

Who'd have thought such a mediocre set of machines could produce one of the greatest fights of all time?

...but it's a fight competing with sheer madness in our number 1 fight, and the most bizarre, hilarious, chaotic melee I've had the pleasure of watching. Some Robot Wars fans like huge amounts of damage, some like enormous flips, some like watching incredibly close tussles, and others love watching masterful displays of tactical driving. This fight has none of those features. This fight is art. Comengetorix vs S.M.I.D.S.Y. vs St. Agro vs Warhog doesn't have anywhere near as many high quality attacks as previous entries this high up, but it more than makes up for it in pretty much every other area. St. Agro is mostly a bystander in this carnage, locking its flipper open early before being dumped into the pit by SMIDSY to give us some breathing space late on in the fight.

The other three have magical moments though. Weirdly, Comengetorix arguably did the best to start with, landing several ineffectual axe blows on top of SMIDSY, and shoving it into the path of Warhog, destroying the arena wall in the process. However, Comengetorix seemed to lose the plot in this melee later on, doing everything it could to lose the battle - reversing into Warhog's spinner, getting stuck on the arena wall for a good 30 seconds and almost pitting itself in hilarious fashion. Nothing short of losing half its lifter trying to flip itself off the wall could have made Comengetorix as entertainingly nuts as it was...

Warhog provides 10 times the entertainment here to what was shown in its Series 4 and 5 entries combined, shattering the arena wall, piggybacking up on top of SMIDSY twice and showing driving skill as batsh*t insane as Comengetorix's, with a couple of heart-stopping moments involving the pit. SMIDSY was by far and away the most competent robot in this melee, demonstrating fantastic, controlled aggression throughout, constantly shoving Warhog and Comengetorix around, and landing a neat pitting on St. Agro. I'm not going to lie though, if it had pitted itself trying to eliminate Warhog that would have been the icing on top of this delicious cake.

Even the House Robots had a grand time in this ridiculous fight. Growler trying to free Comengetorix was great to watch, and Shunt landed some amusing axe blows right on top of Warhog's "head". You could hear the grin on Jonathan Pearce's voice throughout this melee; it sounded like he could barely contain his laughter to commentate at times. To me, no other fight comes close for having consistently funny action for such an extended period of time, and at the end of the day, you want to be entertained by Robot Wars. This is not the most competitive fight, nor is it the most damaging, nor are any of the robots likely to top anyone's Favourites list any time soon, but it sure is a joy to watch. Chaotic carnage was flawlessly sculptured in this maniacal melee, and these four weird, wonderful machines will always hold a special place in my heart for producing one of the finest fights ever seen in the pantheon of Robot Wars.

Summary

Coincidentally, between its four melees, I gave Thor two Top 5 melees, one Bottom 5 melee and one Middling 5 melee

I must admit, going into this, I wasn't expecting Team Knightmare to do better than any other team with multiple melees

Brutus Maximus finished 2nd in something. Who would have believed it?

Unashamedly my favourite vertical crushing robot

Well, this has been an enjoyable write-up for sure! That so many of these melees were good watches really helped drive the enthusiasm for finishing this list. To be honest, there are only really the bottom 5 which I completely dislike; every melee in the Top 71 has something redeemable about them, and it only needs to go down towards mid-to-low 60s for me to say that I actually like the fight.

5 Best Heats for Melees:

1. 7I: average position of 9
2. 7A: average position of 12
3. 7N: average position of 12.5
4. 6A: average position of 14
5. 6D: average position of 20.5

5 Worst Heats for Melees:

1. 9D: average position of 75.5
2. 7E: average position of 64
3. 6C: average position of 63.5
4. 7O: average position of 62
5. 9C: average position of 61.5

3 Robots/Teams with the best melee on average (not including robots with only one 4-way melee):

1. Team Knightmare: average position of 8
2. Brutus Maximus: average position of 9
3. R.O.C.S.: average position of 13.5

The Top 3 fights, in my opinion, are still incredibly interchangeable in their order. They were all positioned first, second and third at one point or another, and within a week I'll probably look back and wish they were a different order, then be satisfied with what I did the week after that. Diabolus vs Major Tom 3 vs Tsunami vs X-Terminator showcases the thrill of high octane destruction and big hits in a melee which never takes its foot off the gas. G.B.H. 2 vs ICU vs Sir Chromalot vs The Alien is incredibly competitive, close, consistent action, ending in one of the tightest decisions ever seen on Robot Wars. Comengetorix vs S.M.I.D.S.Y. vs St. Agro vs Warhog is crazy, hilarious and utterly unpredictable, a fiasco in control, but a master of theatrical entertainment. Between them, these Top 3 melees personify pretty much everything I love watching in a fight on Robot Wars. 4-way melees have always been my favourite Round 1 format, and considering the huge proportion of good fights I believe it offered, I can't see that changing any time soon.