BattleBots Slammow

Slammo! (formerly known as SlamMow!) is a heavyweight robot built by Team Danby, which competed in Discovery Seasons 5 and 6 of the BattleBots reboot, and is confirmed to be competing in World Championship VII.
It is a four-wheel drive robot armed with independently powered lifting and grabbing arms, which are capable of grabbing, lifting and "suplexing" opponents. Depending on its opponent, Slammo! has six individual weapon configurations.
In its debut season, SlamMow! team captain Craig Danby also intended to enter with WhamMow!, but despite applying, it was not accepted for the season. The robot was armored in 6mm AR500 steel, with its main chassis being a mix of 6mm and 10mm AR500. The original name SlamMow! derived from the robot's primary sponsor, Mowbot, who specialized in autonomous lawnmower robots. However, the company suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic and would drop their sponsorship following Discovery Season 5. In the competition, SlamMow! proved to be by far and away Craig Danby's most successful BattleBots entry, earning KO wins against Pain Train and WAR? EZ!. Despite a loss to former runner-up Witch Doctor, Team Danby made the Top 32 of BattleBots for the very first time, but lost in their first Championship Tournament battle to eventual semi-finalist Black Dragon, and was eliminated from the tournament. SlamMow! did briefly return for BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, but lost in the first round to HiJinx.
For Discovery Season 6, the team were forced to change their branding with the loss of Mowbot as their main sponsor. This version of Slammo! was cited by Craig Danby to not just be different visually, but be much stronger as well. While roughly 5% smaller in terms of its build, it has a faster drive train, thicker side armor, and a stronger lifting mechanism. Ahead of the season, Team Danby posted a video where Slammo! lifted 500lb of weights, twice the heavyweight limit. Slammo! sported a pop comic theme for Discovery Season 6, with a logo inspired by action callouts used in various comic books. The arms had been recolored to red and blue in accordance with the BattleBots logo, and the green and white color scheme had been ditched for a dazzle camo look, inspired by the military camouflage paint scheme used primarily in World War I to disrupt an enemy's perception of distance and speed. Craig Danby picked up former BattleBots runner-up Mike Jeffries, formerly of Bombshell, ahead of the season to advise and assist with general repairs and maintenance. Unlike the previous season, Slammo! lost both of its fights to veteran HyperShock and newcomer Switchback. Returning for BattleBots: Champions, an alternative look for Slammo! was not enough for it to overcome Malice in the first round of the bracket.
In late 2021, Craig Danby announced he would be again redesigning Slammo! for the following season, which had been confirmed by the network earlier in the year. He confirmed his application soon after and has begun working on the robot.https://www.instagram.com/teamdanby/?hl=en As of the team's application, three separate builds of Slammo! exist. Two of these reside in the US with Craig Danby, whereas the other resides in the United Kingdom with his brother, Chris Danby, with the intention of running it at UK live events in 2023. Team Danby also worked on a new version of WhamMow!, named Apex. Craig Danby has since confirmed applying for World Championship VII with both Slammo! and Apex.Public message from Craig Danby in the Out of the Arena Discord server. Slammo!'s inclusion was confirmed by Danby, with no word as yet on Apex.
==Outside BattleBots==
2020-06-01 18.07.41.jpg|SlamMow! with an alternative set of lifting arms.
2020-05-29 07.57.33.jpg|SlamMow! with its wedge configuration.
SlamMow lifting claws.jpg|SlamMow! with its lifting claws.
IMG 20191105 150759.jpg|SlamMow! at Robot Ruckus 2019.
Clawviperslammo.png|An unsponsored SlamMow! fights Claw Viper at Robot Ruckus 2021.
Slammo2022.png|Early progress on the 2022 Slammo! build.
Robotica22_slammo.jpg|Slammo! at Robotica 2022.
The 2020 season build of SlamMow! competed at Robot Ruckus in November 2021, having also competed with an unpainted version of the robot two years prior. The robot sported pipes over the primary weapon in the spirit of it being a sportsman event and there being no big spinners active. It placed third overall in the heavyweight bracket.
This version of Slammo! fought at the 2022 Robotica event in Houston, Texas where it placed second overall, defeating Orly, Lil Pip Resurrected, Avalanche and Tiger Plywood but losing to HappyCatter and overall champion Deferred Maintenance.
==Robot History==
===Discovery Season 5===
SlamMow! vs. Pain Train
SlamMow!'s first fight of the 2020 season was against newcomer Pain Train. For this match, SlamMow! went with its wedge configuration. SlamMow! started off the stronger, delivering Pain Train to the screws and flipping it over because it had traction problems. SlamMow! then pinned Pain Train and lifted it up, but later hit the drum with the weapon losing damage points. Both bots then made their way to the other side of the arena where SlamMow! picked Pain Train up and did a suplex, then turned Pain Train back over before trying to push Pain Train into the screws. It then took Pain Train to the corner barrier, where its clamping arm caught Pain Train’s weapon belt, and broke it, disabling Pain Train’s drum. This also broke one of SlamMow!’s clamping arms. Pain Train was still having trouble moving and after another lift by SlamMow!, was counted out meaning that SlamMow! got the win by KO with just eight seconds to go.
SlamMow! vs. WAR? EZ!
SlamMow!'s second match was against WAR? EZ!. SlamMow! started by hitting WAR? EZ! head on but did not win the ground game, so opted to retreat. Both robots struggled for dominance until WAR? EZ! drove over the top of SlamMow! and was overturned by SlamMow!'s lifter. WAR? EZ! had no srimech and was counted out, giving SlamMow! the win by KO.
SlamMow! vs. Witch Doctor
After a relatively uneventful fight, SlamMow! was now against the former runner-up Witch Doctor. SlamMow! was off to a great start as they took advantage of Witch Doctor's driving errors and weapon's gyroscopic forces by pushing them into the arena barrier. However, SlamMow! then took a hit that tore off the tip of their right clamping arm. SlamMow! then attacked Witch Doctor's weapon with the hopes of either breaking the disc(s) or the weapon belts but ended up losing all functionality to its clamping arms as a whole. SlamMow! continued to take hits, which eventually broke its right side wheel guard and cost it a wheel. SlamMow! had little offense and defense at this point and was left barely driving in circles as it was counted out, giving Witch Doctor the win by KO.
SlamMow! vs. Black DragonNow in the Top 32 as the No.28 seed, SlamMow! was against Black Dragon. Black Dragon started off rather poorly as they were unable to get under SlamMow!'s front wedge and were nearly flipped over. Black Dragon recovered and started delivering hits, throwing SlamMow! on its back but SlamMow! self-righted. Black Dragon then pushed SlamMow! around but was unable to get its flame thrower to ignite until after completing the shove. Black Dragon then tossed SlamMow! on its back again, costing SlamMow! a belt. Black Dragon then delivered a final hit that flipped SlamMow! over. This time, SlamMow! did not right itself but Black Dragon moved in just in case. SlamMow! was counted out, giving Black Dragon the win by KO, eliminating SlamMow! from the tournament.
===BattleBots: Bounty Hunters===
SlamMow! vs. HiJinxSlamMow! also participated in one of six BattleBots: Bounty Hunters tournaments, where it first had to fight HiJinx. SlamMow! was armed with its traditional grabber-lifter setup but found itself on top of HiJinx and pushed around before losing a piece of its weapon. SlamMow! tried to attack but again got on top of HiJinx, this time on the rear tail. However, SlamMow! managed to corner HiJinx and stopped their weapon bar before flipping them over in a suplex. This seemed to favor SlamMow! as they managed to then get one of HiJinx's wheels briefly stuck behind the screws. HiJinx escaped but by this point neither robot was moving much at all. HiJinx had more movement but Craig Danby had the impression his bot was still able to avoid a countout. Instead, after several seconds of waiting, SlamMow! was counted out, giving HiJinx the win by KO and a spot in the next round.
===Discovery Season 6===
Slammo! vs. HyperShockSlammo! returned for the 2021 season, and its first fight was against a newly-designed HyperShock. Pre-fight, Craig Danby stated his intentions to use the Upper Deck to his advantage and suplex HyperShock on top of it. From the opening seconds, however, HyperShock was the aggressor, circling Slammo! before landing several shots to its frame. Slammo! found itself bullied into the side of the Upper Deck, suffering further attacks from HyperShock's primary weapon. Slammo! appeared to now only be driving on one side and was stuck underneath the pulverizer. HyperShock delivered one final hit which sent Slammo! into the air. After checking for mobility, HyperShock returned to the middle of the BattleBox as Slammo! was counted out, giving HyperShock the win by KO.
Slammo! vs. SwitchbackSlammo!'s second fight was against newcomer Switchback. Craig Danby's team and Slammo entered the BattleBox with a large cut-out of Will Bales' face stuck on their gnome mascot. They also sported their "stiletto" forks, which allowed Slammo! to get underneath robots even if their primary weapon is off the floor. Switchback raised its weapon in the opening seconds as it looked to counter Slammo!. It caught Craig Danby's bot side on and was able to cause sparks to fly, before doing the same to its front. Slammo! attempted to grab Switchback, but was only able to pinch one of their front wedgelets. As such, it did not have the leverage to lift its opponent, let alone suplex it. Switchback lowered its drum and caught Slammo! out, knocking it away. However, neither robot was able to gain a foothold in the match. Switchback dropped its drum onto Slammo! again as it appeared to be struggling with drive issues. The rookie bot backed away momentarily before coming in again, but Slammo! was able to grip the weapon and prevent it from spinning up. Again, Slammo! was unable to lift Switchback and eventually let go. Switchback retreated before landing one last hit on Slammo!, which was no longer able to move. Slammo! was counted out, falling to an 0-2 record.
===BattleBots: Champions===
Slammo! vs. Malice
Slammo! also entered BattleBots: Champions, and faced Malice in the first round of Sin City Slugfest. It was equipped with a large plow adorned with dazzle camo, named the Bunny Boiler for this fight. Slammo! also sported larger rear wheels, with decoration resembling Malice's drum weapon. Slammo! was immediately able to overturn Malice, whose weapon hit the arena barrier and ground to a halt. As it began to spin up again, Slammo! shoved Malice into the short corner and lifted it over. Unbalanced, Slammo! flipped itself over and Malice took advantage, tearing a wheel away as it attempted to self-right. Despite this, Slammo! appeared capable of showing sufficient maneuverability and Malice deflected off the plow, almost propping itself up on its back. The improved bunny tail assisted in righting Malice as it approached Craig Danby's robot again, forcing one of the grabbers shut. Malice continued to hit high up on Slammo!'s plow, ripping the dazzle camo in places and keeping it within the corner of the BattleBox. It then tore into a grappling arm of Slammo!, but rode up the plow in the process, allowing Slammo! to drive Malice across the arena with just one wheel drive. Slammo! attempted to lift, but made itself vulnerable to a counter attack and Malice did just that, removing the other wheel and leaving Slammo! unable to move. Slammo! was counted out and eliminated from the bracket.
===Wins/Losses===
*Wins: 5
*Losses: 7
Competition 	Wins	Losses
Discovery Season 5 	Pain Train (Undercard Match)
WAR? EZ! (Untelevised Undercard Match)	Witch Doctor (Undercard Match)
Black Dragon
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters	None	HiJinx
Discovery Season 6 	Ribbot
Rusty
Pain Train	HyperShock (Undercard Match)
Switchback (Untelevised Undercard Match)
BattleBots: Champions 	None	Malice
World Championship VII 	None	DeathRoll
==Faruq Tauheed Introductions==
"It's the weed-whacking, whip-cracking, SLAMMOW!"
"From Raleigh, North Carolina, the Tar Hill state. Mess with him, you deserve your fate. SLAMMOW!"
"From Raleigh, North Carolina, being in the ring with this bot is all the slammunition it needs, it’s SLAMMO!"
"From Raleigh, North Carolina, his name's an onomatopoeia, and he's the automaton to beat ya, it's SLAMMO!"
"From Raleigh, North Carolina, don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk. Here to throw it down, it's SLAMMOW!"
'From Releigh, North Carolina, let’s do a fuckpoop, it’s SLAMMOW!'
==See Also==
*Foxic (Robot Wars)
*Foxic (RoboGames)
*Apex (Robot Wars)
==Trivia==
*Craig Danby's Robot Wars entry Foxic was present for filming of Discovery Season 4, alongside Predator.
*In Slammo!'s YouTube exclusive battle against Switchback, a major editing error shows Rampage and Retrograde in the BattleBox before the teams press their buttons ahead of the fight. 
**In this same fight, Faruq's "slammunition" intro for Slammo! was recycled from its previous main episode fight against HyperShock.
==References==
Category:Heavyweight Robots
Category:BattleBots Competitors
Category:Bounty Hunters Competitors
Category:Robots from North Carolina
Category:Robots armed with lifting weapons
Category:Robots armed with grabbing weapons
Category:Robots armed with grapplers
Category:Robot Wars Competitors
Category:Robot Ruckus at OMF Competitors
Category:Robots which debuted in Discovery Season 5
Category:Bounty hunters competitors
Category:Robots that could self-right
Category:RoboGames 2023 Applicants