Ground Zero was a Lightweight built by Team O-Town that competed in the 2004 RFL Nationals. It was a Silver, conical, full body spinner robot with Red teeth and a directional self righting flag on top. Ground Zero did well in its only competition, winning second place at the 2004 RFL Nationals, and proving itself to be quite destructive. The team that built Ground Zero also built Middleweight Killjoy that competed at the same event to far less success.
Robot History[]
2004 RFL Nationals[] |
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Ground Zero vs Wiped Out  Ground Zero rips Wiped Out's wedge off. Ground Zero's first match was against the low wedge and horizontal tire of Wiped Out, this match started with Ground Zero unable to spin up. This allowed Wiped Out to get under Ground Zero, and slam it into the rails, Ground Zero then finally got spun up to speed and delivered a blow to Wiped Out's front wedge. Ground Zero then delivered two more hits to Wiped Out, the first one ripping off its rear horizontally mounted wheel and the second ripping apart its wedge, and getting the two bots stuck together.
 Ground Zero sends Wiped Out flying. The match was then paused to separate the two robots, as soon as they were separated and the match restarted it became clear that that last hit had knocked one of Wiped Out's wheels into its wheelguard leaving it to drive in circles. Ground Zero then drove in and delivered another hit, sending Wiped Out flying in a shower of sparks. This hit crippled Wiped Out's mobility even more, Ground Zero then moved in and took a chunk out of Wiped Out. Wiped Out then continued driving in circles and its horizontal tire fell off, Ground Zero then moved in yet again and delivered several hits with the final hit in this combo sending Wiped Out flying once more. Following this Wiped Out started smoking and Ground Zero struck it again. However this did not matter, as the final seconds were counted down, unsurprisingly the resulting judges decision went to Ground Zero putting it through to the next round. |
Ground Zero vs Westside Glory  Ground Zero performs a Mauler Dance after being slammed by Westside Glory. This meant that Ground Zero was now in the next round against former BattleBots quartefinalist Westside Glory. This fight started with Westside Glory slamming into Ground Zero, making it pull a mauler dance. However Ground Zero recovered and tried to spin back up, but Westside Glory slammed it again, flipping it. Westside Glory then drove in and pitted Ground Zero and it tapped out. This loss by technical knockout meant that Ground Zero would now have to fight through the losers bracket. |
Ground Zero vs The Droogosh   Ground Zero collides with The Droogosh in a shower of sparks. Next up was the ram bot, The Droogosh. This fight started with Ground Zero spinning up, and The Droogosh trying to avoid it. Ground Zero then got a hit in that sent The Droogosh flying. However The Droogosh then rammed Ground Zero twice, the first hit sent The Droogosh flying, and the second hit ripped one of Ground Zero's teeth off causing it to spin off balance. Regardless of this hinderance, Ground Zero then slammed The Droogosh with its now one toothed spinning shell.   Ground Zero does a mauler dance after losing a tooth on The Droogosh. This attack disabled one half of The Droogosh's drivetrain, following this Ground Zero slammed into The Droogosh again and sent it spinning before striking The Droogosh once more. This caused The Droogosh to stop moving and promptly tap out. This meant that Ground Zero had won by technical knockout and put them through to round 2 of the losers bracket. |
Ground Zero vs The Coyote   Ground Zero tears The Coyote's lifter off. Ground Zero's next fight was against the two wheeled lifting wedge of The Coyote. At the start of this match The Coyote box rushed Ground Zero sending it a few feet into the air. The Coyote then attempted another attack on Ground Zero, however this only resulted in Ground Zero ripping its front lifter clean off. Ground Zero then slammed into The Coyote yet again, this sent it skidding into the rails leaving it unable to move. Following this The Coyote tapped out meaning Ground Zero had won by a second consecutive TKO, putting Ground Zero through to the losers bracket quarterfinals. |
Ground Zero vs AGSMA   Ground Zero rips a chunk of AGSMA's tire off. In the losers quarterfinals Ground Zero faced up against the hinged bumper of AGSMA. For this fight Instead of the straight red teeth Ground Zero had been using up til this point, Team O-Town opted to swap in a pair of black curved blades onto the shell of Ground Zero. This fight started with Ground Zero coming out of its square, and taking two shots at AGSMA, with the second hit tearing a chunk out of AGSMA's left tire. AGSMA then rammed Ground Zero showering sparks everywhere, after this Ground Zero delivered a hit that sent both robots flying through the air.   Both robots go flying after a hard collision. Ground Zero then attacked AGSMA's bumper, this sent it flying through the air, and landing on its wheels. AGSMA then rammed Ground Zero a few more times before missing a shot, this allowed Ground Zero to gome in and send AGSMA flying into the rails. After another minor attack on AGSMA, Ground Zero hit its opponents front bumper, and pulled a mauler dance, landing on its wheels. Ground Zero then moved in and sent AGSMA skidding into the rails yet again, following up this attack by delivering a hit that causing AGSMA to spin out. AGSMA then attempted to slam Ground Zero into the rails but missed allowing Ground Zero to get up to speed. Using this opportunity, Ground Zero delivered a devastating blow that ripped AGSMA's bumper halfway off.   Ground Zero catches air off of AGSMA's plow. After a bit more driving and a few more minor hits, Ground Zero managed to high center AGSMA on its own bumper which was still half attatched to it. This really would not matter however, as the clock counted down the final seconds of the match. The resulting judges decision went in Ground Zero's favor and this put it through to the losers semifinal. |
Ground Zero vs New Attitude   Ground Zero is sent flying after it peels back New Attitude's armor. In the losers semifinal Ground Zero was pitted up against the fast invertible wedge of New Attitude. This fight started with New Attitude box rushing Ground Zero but only managing to glance it allowing Ground Zero to get up to full speed while New Attitude slammed full bore into the rails. New Attitude then attempted to ram the dangerous full body spinner but Ground Zero sent it spinning into the rails. Then , after a glancing blow from its opponent New Attitude slammed full speed into Ground Zero flipping it, However New Attitude did not come out of this attack unscathed as part of its right side armor was peeled back. Ground Zero quickly righted itself and spun back up to speed before New Attitude slammed into it again sending it flying. Ground Zero then regained stability and attacked New Attitude once again sending it skidding into the rails. Shortly afterwards Ground Zero followed that up with a final attack that disabled New Attitude which promptly tapped out, guaranteeing Ground Zero at least third place. |
Ground Zero vs Wipe Out #2   A failed attack on Ground Zero sends Wipe Out #2 flying Florida air. In the loser's bracket finals Ground Zero's opponent was Wipe Out #2, the match started out with Ground Zero getting up to full speed and slamming into the edge of Wipe Out #2's wedge. This attack popped Wipe Out #2 into the air, the robots then traded blows sending each machine flying before Ground Zero got two good hits in a row. Wipe Out #2 then lined up an attack, this failed however and they instead rode up Ground Zero's spinning shell and were sent flying into the rails by the powerful full body spinner. Wipe Out #2 then attempted to slam Ground Zero into the side of the arena but the Floridian machine just spun right over it as Wipe Out #2 itself crashed into the rails. Ground Zero then delivered a large hit once again on the wedge of Wipe Out #2 that sent it spinning. However Wipe Out #2 recovered and delivered a barrage of attacks on Ground Zero, popping it into the air on the first one and sending it mauler dancing into the rails in the second. After this attack Ground Zero recovered and the robots traded blows once more with Ground Zero ripping a chunk out of the front of Wipe Out #2 which then popped Ground Zero into the air again.   Ground Zero rips a piece off of Wipe Out #2. Ground Zero then slammed head on into the wedge of Wipe Out #2, sending itself flying before repeating the attack this time slowing its spinner to a near halt. Although unable to capitalize on this error as Ground Zero quickly spun back up. Wipe Out #2 nevertheless went on the attack again, ramming into and sending Ground Zero flying a few more times. Ground Zero then delivered a hit to the front of Wipe Out #2 which sent it spinning away once more before Wipe Out #2 again rammed Ground Zero, this sent it flying yet again. Ground Zero then regained control as Wipe Out then attempted to line up for another ram but got the angle wrong and Ground Zero's spinning shell sent it spinning into the air. Following this failed attack, the robots then traded blows again until the timer ticked down with Ground Zero peeling away part of Wipe Out #2's top armor in one of the exchanges. Ground Zero won won the resulting Judges decision putting it into the finals. |
Ground Zero vs Westside Glory   Ground Zero about to be shoved into the rails by Westside Glory. For the Lightweight finals Ground Zero faced Westside Glory once again. The fight started badly for Ground Zero with it spinning up and immediately driving into the rails. This allowed Westside Glory to come in and slam Ground Zero repeatedly. After this battering Ground Zero got up to speed and Westside Glory rammed it, sending it flying. Ground Zero then tried to retreat from Westside Glory to spin up, however the shell spinner only wound up driving into the rails again. With Ground Zero unable to get up to speed, Westside Glory took advantage of the situation, getting under its opponent, and slamming it into the rails. Ground Zero then got away and finally got back up to speed before delivering a few hits on Westside Glory's wedge. These attacks however stopped the spinner again, once more allowing Westside Glory to take Ground Zero into to the rails. However it quickly became clear that both robots were stuck and the match was paused to separate the robots. Once the fight resumed it became immediately clear that Ground Zero was immobilized and it was counted out. This meant that Ground Zero became the Lightweight runner-up of the 2004 RFL Nationals. Ground Zero would continue competing until the team retired from the sport in April of 2006 as a result Ground Zero, along with them Killjoy never made another ComBots or RoboGames event appearance. |
Combat Record[]
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 6
- Losses: 2
| Competition | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 RFL Nationals | Wiped Out
The Droogosh The Coyote |
Westside Glory (x2) |
Outside RoboGames[]
Ground Zero originally competed in BattleBots Season 5.0 as Major Divot where it went 1-1. After BattleBots ended it competed at Battle Beach 1-4 where it became the lightweight champion in 3 and 4. Ground Zero also competed in the Steel Conflict hosted Triangle Series Nationals going 2-2 there.
Trivia[]
- Both Ground Zero's first and last matches resulted in the robots needing to be separated at one point.
- Ground Zero was the first article to be redone in the new RoboGames Wiki format.
See Also[]
Major Divot (BattleBots)