Bender joins the Ultimate Robot Fighting League and quickly becomes the champ—as the fights are rigged so the most popular robot wins. Bender's popularity eventually drops and he's ordered to lose to the devastating newcomer, the titanic Destructor. Leela decides to help Bender defeat Destructor when she discovers the other robot's trainer is her former despised karate instructor, Fnog.
Tropes:
- All Animals Are Dogs: Once Farnsworth "teaches the toaster to feel love", it acts a playful puppy—barking, yipping, and using its lever handle to "pant".
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Bender is ordered to take the fall in his final match against Destructor as Gender Bender, a sissy robot persona, or else get beaten the old fashioned way (to death!). Either way, he gains nothing from this.
- And I Must Scream:
- Hermes spends most of the episode with a Brain Slug on his head, courtesy of a stopover at the Brain Slug planet while on vacation. Everyone figures it out, but they're in no hurry to save him. Bender accidentally manages to dislodge the Brain Slug, but then it gets immediately put back on.
- Lampshaded when George Foreman says, "As a head without a body, I envy the dead."
- Bankruptcy Barrel: Parodied with one of Bender's opponents, "Billionaire-Bot". After Billionaire-Bot is defeated, Bender puts a barrel over him labeled "Very Poor".
- Butt-Monkey: Bender in the second half of the episode.
- Captain Obvious: When describing Ultimate Robot Fighting:Farnsworth: There are no rules. Two robots enter, one robot leaves. Then later the other robot leaves after being declared the winner.
- Catchphrase: Destructor never lets a scene pass without belting out "I AM DESTRUCTOR! I WILL DESTROY YOU! AGRAGAGRAGAG!"
- Coincidental Broadcast: When Leela spots her former martial arts teacher in a trailer on TV.
- Continuity Nod: Miss Vega Four, the paramecium that won the Miss Universe Pageant two episodes earlier is seen in a news reel encouraging troops from her home world to invade Earth.
- Crack Defeat: Leela lost a martial arts match after beating up the other competitors because she lacks the 'will of the warrior'. In other words, she's female.
- Death by Falling Over: The Masked Unit slips on Bender's oily popcorn, hits the ground and gets knocked out cold.
- Dramatic Unmask: Leela revealing The Masked Unit.
- Discontinuity Nod: Even if the scenes on Earth almost entirely take place in the United States of America, the show reminds several times that the entire planet is united under a single government. So, why does the Toreador refer as himself as a stranger, exhibiting a Spanish passport, even if it is for the show?
- Early-Bird Cameo: Not for a character per se, but this was the first episode to mention Smizmar before its meaning was clarified in "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch".
- Face–Heel Turn: Bender's Face pro-wrestling personna is switched to that of the Heel "Gender-Bender," a Creepy Crossdresser-themed Jobber for Destructor. Bender is not on board with this.
- Fake Interactivity: The movie they are watching in theatre claims to be interactive, but the chairs with the buttons to make a choice are faulty, thus causing Calculon to check his paperwork instead of going on an adventure.
- Foreign Wrestling Heel: Bender fights one of these, called The Foreigner."I'm not from here! I have my own customs! Look at my craaaaaazy passport!"
- Future Imperfect: The head of George Foreman recalls Muhammad Ali's fight in 1973 where he faced a giant, mechanical Joe Fraiser in a fight that destroyed the entire planet.Rich Little: Interesting if true.
- Funny Background Event: While the crowd cheers after Bender's first victory, Amy can be spotted preventing Hermes from putting a Brain Slug on a child's head.
- The Giant: Destructor.
- Glamorous Wartime Singer: Featured in the trailer they watch in the theatre.
- Gorgeous George: Bender is forced to take the persona of Gender Bender, complete with pink tutu uniform, for his last match.
- Graceful Loser: Bender believes there is at least some dignity in losing in a fixed fight. He gets denied this trope because he is ordered to take a dive against Destructor while wearing a tutu and a curly blonde wig.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: The Destructor slamming Bender left and right in the ring.
- Heel: Bender's opponents:
- The Authority type is represented by Billionaire-Bot, whose Gimmick is banker-themed.
- The Foreigner is represented by a robot with the same name. His Gimmick is that he's got his own, strange customs and dresses in a way that goes against local fashion. Also his passport is "crazy."
- Bender himself, when Turned, becomes the Gorgeous George type; a Creepy Crossdresser in a tutu and curly blonde wig and weilding a fairy wand.
- The Psycho/Monster type is represented by Destructor, who's Gimmick is that he's always ready to "DESTROY YOU AGRAGAGRAGAG!"
- High-Class Glass: Part of Billionaire-bit's outfit.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Leela manages to defeat her mentor, Fnog, by having his controlled robot punch him.
- Hypocritical Humor: The Tom Servo and Crow Shout-Out.Shh, don't talk during the movie!
- It's All About Me: Leela changes her mind about helping Bender to win his fight against the Destructor only because it allows to avenge herself of her old martial arts teacher.
- Kayfabe: The Ultimate Robot Fighting League is basically Professional Wrestling, only it's still a secret to the public that the fights are all predetermined. The promoter describes it as a "scam", though. Parodied when Fly says that he thought URFL "was real, like wrestling, but instead it's fixed, like boxing".
- A Lady on Each Arm: Bender after becoming famous and rich.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: The Masked Unit was very patient until Bender pushed him too far.
- Motion-Capture Mecha: How the Destructor is actually fighting: he's being controlled by Fnog, from beneath the ring. Leela uses this against Fnog in the end by forcing him to punch straight down, resulting in the Destructor punching through the floor and hitting Fnog.
- Movie-Theater Episode: The first act of the episode starts with The PE team going to see All My Circuits: The Movie before it transitions into a Pro Wrestling Episode.
- Mugging the Monster: Bender acts like a complete jackass to a robot sitting in front of him at the theater. Eventually, the robot hits his limit, and picks a fight, revealing himself to be the Masked Unit. "I'M GONNA OPEN A FILE OF WHOOP-ASS ON YOU!"
- Parts Unknown: The announcer at Bender's first match introduces the Clear-Cutter as being "from and made of parts unknown."
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:Bender: Final boarding call for Flight 406 — Non-stop service to pain!Bender: Now boarding standby passengers... (Wham!)
- Pun: Bender the Offender is a play on the term "fender bender".
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: During the climactic fight, Bender kicks the Destructor without the latter showing any reaction.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Leela beats Fnog, but he still technically wins as Destructor when the robot squishes Bender, and nobody finds out that Fnog cheated.
- Remote Body: The reveal that Master Fnog is remotely controlling the Destructor.
- Rich Bastard: One of the heel robot wrestler is Billionaire-bot, who wears a stereotypical 19th century bourgeois outfit, including a diamond brooch.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: In Leela's flashback, she is depicted as an Arrogant Kung-Fu Girl who demolishes most of the other students. Their teacher, Master Fnog points out there is more to mastering her skill than just beating up her opponent and she lacks "the will of a warrior", which he adds only a man can achieve. Master Fnog chastising and humiliating Leela in front of the students she bullied would be deserved normally, but it becomes evident he is just a chauvinist.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon realizing that Hermes has been zombified by a brain slug, the first reaction Farnsworth and the rest of the PE staff have is to immediately book it and hide in a movie theater until the brain slug leaves.
- Second-Face Smoke: One of Bender's opponents, the "Chain Smoker", blows smoke in the audience's face to establish his jerkassiness.
- See You in Hell: Parodied.Fnog: See you in Girl Hell. I'll be in Boy Hell, much nicer!
- Shout-Out:
- The opening to All My Circuits: The Movie is a spoof on every James Bond opening ever, complete with similar guitar riff.
- Fnog is based on Mister Miyagi.
- And a fair amount of Yoda.
- "It's Benderin' time!"
- Among the movies the gang consider seeing are Planet of the Clams and Galaxy Wars (the latter appears to be a documentary).
- Inside the movie theater, the cast are shown in silhouette in front of the screen, playing on the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Fry then makes a sarcastic comment about a newsreel, causing silhouettes of Tom Servo and Crow to tell him not to talk during the movie.
- The title references Raging Bull. There's also a Homage Shot to the famous Hit Stop scene.
- A fan at one of Bender's fights has a sign that reads "Bender 3:16."
- The scene where Bender fires Leela is very reminiscent of Rocky V.
- Smooch of Victory: Bender gets one from a female robot admirer after defeating The Masked Unit in the theatre.
- Spikes of Villainy: The Destructor has spikes all over his upper body.
- Spoof Aesop: Bender loses his match, but as Leela says, the important thing is that she beat a guy who hurt her feelings in high school.
- Squashed Flat: Bender at the end of his match with Destructor.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Master Fnog refused to send Leela, his best student, to the Junior Karate Championships, instead sending the two students she defeated in the qualifiers, because he claimed she did not have the Will of the Warrior - which according to him, only men can possess. Later, Leela encounters him during Bender's final bout in the Ultimate Robot Fighting League as the trainer of a new star, Destructor. She eventually uncovers that Fnog was cheating, and though he still taunts her for being a woman, she gets to beat him.Fnog: No girl has the will of the warrior. You have the will of a housewife, or at best, a schoolmarm.
- Take That!: This line from Fry:Fry: Man, I thought Ultimate Robot Fighting was real, like pro wrestling, but it turns out it's fixed, like boxing.
- There Was a Door: Destructor's Dynamic Entry.
- This Loser Is You: To catch fans. Apparently, in Futurama, they have no problem identifying to an offender (albeit one claiming to be repentent), while being xenophobic and transphobic.
- Throwing the Fight: Bender learns that the robot matches are set up and a winner is already decided. Bender goes along with this trope as the popular fighter until said popularity drops. He is then orders to take on a Gorgeous George persona and lose to a new fighter.
- Training Montage: Leela preparing Bender for Robot Wrestling.
- Villainous Respect: During their fight at the episode's climax, Fnog finally gives praise to Leela, albeit in something of a backhanded way.Fnog: You were an excellent student. Too bad I was a lousy teacher!
- We Meet Again: Line said by Leela when confronting Master Fnog.
- The Worst Seat in the House: While at the movie, Bender finds himself sitting behind a taller robot which blocks his view of the screen.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: After spending most of the episode with a Brain Slug stuck on his head, Hermes finally gets it removed courtesy of Bender... who then puts it back on before Hermes can tell him otherwise.
- Your Brain Won't Be Much of a Meal: When Fry gets a brain slug, we soon see that it apparently starved to death. The creator's commentary admits that this is the oldest joke (and, despite what fans say online, has nothing to do with Fry being impervious to brainwashing or brain attacks because he has no delta brainwave, as this episode was written before that plotline was established).
