This is a good article. Click here for more information.

Hardcore Holly

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

"Bob Holly" redirects here. For the football player, see Bob Holly (American football).
Hardcore Holly
Bob-Holly-Entrance-crop,-RLA-Melb-10.11.2007.jpg
Hardcore Holly in November 2007.
Birth name Robert William Howard[1][2]
Born (1963-01-29) January 29, 1963 (age 61)[1]
Glendale, California, United States[3][4]
Residence Dubuque, Iowa, United States[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Bob Holly[3]
Bob Howard[3]
Bombastic Bob[3]
Hardcore Holly[5]
Thurman "Sparky" Plugg[3]
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight 243 lb (110 kg)
Billed from Mobile, Alabama [2][5]
Trained by Bob Sweetan[3]
Rip Tyler[3]
Debut 1987[6]

Robert William "Bob" Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year career with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/E) under the ring names Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, Bob "Spark Plug" Holly, Bombastic Bob and Hardcore Holly.[1][2][3]

After debuting in 1990, Holly worked for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and other independent promotions, before joining WWE full-time in 1994. Initially portraying the character of a NASCAR driver, Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, his name was soon changed to Bob "Spark Plug" Holly, before forming a team with Bodacious Bart, known as The New Midnight Express in 1998. After becoming known simply as "Hardcore Holly" in 1999, he was joined by on-screen cousins, Crash and Molly. In 2002, he suffered a broken neck, which sidelined him for over a year. Upon his return, he engaged in minor feuds with wrestlers such as Mr. Kennedy and Rob Van Dam, before forming a tag team with Cody Rhodes in 2007. Holly was released from WWE in 2009, returning to the independent circuit. He published his autobiography, The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story, in 2013.

During his career, Holly has held the WWF/E Hardcore Championship six times, the World Tag Team Championship three times (with 1–2–3 Kid, Crash Holly and Cody Rhodes), and the NWA World Tag Team Championship once with Bart Gunn.[7]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1987-1994)

Holly trained under Stan Frazier, Eddie Sullivan, Marcelle Pringle and Rip Tyler, and debuted in 1987 in the Mobile area in the World Wrestling Organization promotion where he held titles on and off, including the WWO Tag Team Championship with Ron Starr.[6] He wrestled as "Superstar" Bob Howard and teamed regularly with Robert Gibson.[1]

From there, he wrestled in Memphis and then in the NWA with moderate success before briefly going to Smoky Mountain Wrestling in early 1992 where he wrestled as "Hollywood" Bob Holly.[1]

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

Sparky Plugg (1994–1998)

Holly as Bob "Spark Plug" Holly in 1996

Holly began working in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1991, working as a jobber, losing to established stars.[1]

Holly returned to the WWF on January 11, 1994.[1] His initial gimmick was that of a NASCAR driver turned wrestler called Thurman "Sparky" Plugg,[1][6] which was later changed to Bob "Spark Plug" Holly.[8][9] He competed in the 1994 Royal Rumble match, lasting over 21 minutes.

At the Royal Rumble in January 1995, Holly and the 1–2–3 Kid defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka in the finals of a tournament to crown new WWF Tag Team Champions.[10] Their title reign lasted only one day, however, as the next day, on WWF Monday Night Raw, Holly and the Kid lost the tag team title to The Smoking Gunns.[1][10]

On the May 7, 1995 (taped April 26, 1995) episode of WWF Action Zone, Holly pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett in a title match; however, Jarrett had his foot on the ropes, which meant that the pin was illegal, and the title was ruled vacated.[1][2] Later on in the show, Jarrett defeated Holly in a rematch for the vacant title after pinning Holly with a roll-up.[1] Holly's title win is not recognized by WWE.[1][2] Holly then competed in the 1995 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Mantaur to qualify before losing to The Roadie in the quarterfinals.[6] He was then the first WWF pay-per-view opponent of Hunter Hearst Helmsley, losing to him at SummerSlam.[6] At Survivor Series, Holly was a part of the Underdogs team along with Marty Jannetty, Hakushi and Barry Horowitz. They were defeated by the Body Donnas team of Skip, Tom Prichard, Rad Radford and The 1-2-3 Kid.[6]

Despite lasting nearly 40 minutes in the Royal Rumble, Holly made very few television appearances in the WWF throughout 1996 and 1997.[1]

Bombastic Bob (1998)

In February 1998, Holly and Bart Gunn joined forces with Jim Cornette as part of Jeff Jarrett's National Wrestling Alliance stable.[2] Holly, renamed "Bombastic Bob", and Gunn, renamed "Bodacious Bart" were known collectively as The New Midnight Express.[1] The New Midnight Express defeated The Headbangers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship on March 30, 1998[6] and held the titles until August 14 of that year, when they were defeated by The Border Patrol. They challenged The New Age Outlaws for the World Tag Team Championship at the King of the Ring pay-per-view, but were unsuccessful.[11]

The J.O.B. Squad (1998-1999)

In November 1998, Al Snow, Bob Holly and Scorpio united and formed The J.O.B. Squad. During that same month on an edition of Raw, they helped Mankind defeat Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man in a triple threat match. In February 1999, both Scorpio and The Blue Meanie were released by the WWF while Gillberg was later phased out of storylines. After dwindling down to only two members, Snow wrestled against himself on an edition of Raw before Holly came down to the ring to prevent Snow from hurting himself, which led to the formal breakup of the J.O.B. Squad. Later that month at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, Bob Holly, now renamed Hardcore Holly,[2] defeated Snow for the WWF Hardcore Championship[12] to permanently end the J.O.B. Squad.

The Holly Cousins (1999–2001)

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: The Holly Cousins

In 1999, Holly entered the race for the WWF's new Hardcore Championship, winning it six times in total, and began using the ringname Hardcore Holly on the March 8, 1999 edition of Raw.[2][12] He teamed up with an on-screen cousin Crash Holly, with whom he won the WWF Tag Team Championship.[13] In 2000, Hardcore Holly challenged Chyna for a shot at the disputed Intercontinental Championship on Raw is War. He lost the match due to interference from Chris Jericho, and later lost a Triple Threat Match against Chyna and Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship at the 2000 Royal Rumble.[14] Holly then missed several months of ring time due to a legitimately broken arm, suffered in a match with Kurt Angle on June 29, 2000 edition of Smackdown.[1] After his return, later in 2000, another on-screen cousin, Molly Holly was introduced.[2][15] Holly returned on the November 13, 2000 edition of raw, Where Holly, Crash Holly & The Undertaker defeated Edge & Christian & Kurt Angle in a six-man tag match. at Survivor Series (2000), Holly faced William Regal for the WWF European Championship but lost by DQ. Holly got a rematch at the title at Armageddon (2000) but was defeated by Regal. at Royal Rumble (2001), Holly competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by The Undertaker. on the February 8 edition of Raw, Holly defeated Raven to win the Hardcore title but lost the title back to Raven moments later. Holly competed in the 2001 King Of The Ring Tournament but lost to Kurt Angle in The First round.

Various feuds and storylines (2002–2007)

Holly at a 2005 house show

In 2002, Holly became a villain on SmackDown! and began a short feud with Randy Orton.[6] Holly suffered a broken neck during a 2002 match against Brock Lesnar, when he was powerbombed neck first on the mat. He had a thirteen-month hiatus from wrestling after surgery. In October 2003, Holly began training at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory, in preparation for his return to the main roster.[1] Holly returned as a fan favorite at the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November 2003 for revenge.[16] He challenged Lesnar to a match for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, but lost.[17]

During 2004 and early 2005, he formed short-lived tag teams with Billy Gunn, and later Charlie Haas in the hunt for the Tag Team Championship, but was unsuccessful with both partners.[1][18][19] He also failed to claim the WWE Championship from John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a hardcore match.[20]

Holly with an armbar locked firmly on Mr. Kennedy

In mid-2005, Holly went into singles competition trying to acquire the United States Championship from Orlando Jordan.[21] After being defeated twice by Jordan, Holly finally managed to pick up a non-title win over Jordan via disqualification on WWE Velocity, which aired on August 6, 2005.[1][6] Holly then entered a short feud with SmackDown! newcomer, Mr. Kennedy. This feud climaxed on October 9, 2005 at No Mercy, where Kennedy defeated Holly after a Green Bay Plunge.[22]

Holly then underwent several surgeries to repair nagging injuries. He was hospitalized after a staph infection developed in a right arm wound.[1] The infection was possibly career-threatening, as doctors were worried at one point that the arm may have to undergo amputation.[23] The subsequent treatments were a success, however.[23]

Holly made a surprise appearance at WWE's ECW house show event on August 21, 2006 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, defeating Balls Mahoney.[24] Holly made his ECW television debut the next night, August 22, appearing in a promo with Paul Heyman, and later attacking Rob Van Dam (RVD) and Danny Doring during a match.[25] Holly, now as a heel, soon joined with Heyman and his other associates to feud with RVD and others.

Holly performing a superplex on Test in the Extreme Elimination Chamber at the December to Dismember event

On September 26, 2006, Holly received 24 stitches from WWE Doctor Ferdinand Rios in his back after suffering a severe laceration during an Extreme Rules match against Rob Van Dam when he landed on the metal railing of a table he was suplexing Van Dam out of the ring and through during an ECW show in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[26] Holly obtained the injury early in the match but continued to wrestle until the match's conclusion when he was pinned. After the match, as he was being helped out of the ring, he received a standing ovation from fans.[27] The legitimate incident caused fans to cheer Holly in the following weeks, leading him to become a face character and a feud with Paul Heyman's other enforcer Test.[28] His second to latest run as a face was short lived as he eventually turned on Rob Van Dam when they were partners in a tag match.[29]

When Sabu was found kayfabe unconscious in the locker room area before the Extreme Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember, Holly was chosen as his replacement.[30] Holly entered with Rob Van Dam as the first of two combatants. He was the second to be eliminated; he was eliminated by Test by a running big boot.[30] Subsequently, he entered into a feud with CM Punk whereby Holly, now a tweener, showed his endurance by surviving Punk's Anaconda Vice submission hold.[31] Holly then gave Punk his first loss in ECW; Punk had been undefeated for half a year.[32] After Test replaced Holly in a match against ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley, Holly vowed he would become champion whether he faced Test or Lashley. Holly then was one of ECW superstars entered in the Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by The Great Khali.[33] Holly soon became the number one contender for Lashley's ECW Championship and faced off against Lashley, albeit unsuccessfully.[34]

On April 3, 2007, Holly lost to Snitsky. After the match, Snitsky wedged Holly's arm between the steel steps and repeatedly hit the steps with a steel chair, resulting in a broken arm in the storyline.[35] Holly had surgery on April 16 because of a staph infection and missed around five months.[36]

Alliance with Cody Rhodes and departure (2007–2009)

Holly's final feud was against rookie Cody Rhodes, who became his protegeé and both won the World Tag Team Championship.

Holly was drafted back to SmackDown! from ECW on June 17, 2007 as part of the Supplemental Draft. Despite this, he returned to the ring as a member of the Raw brand on September 24, 2007, defeating Cody Rhodes,[37] and starting a "respect" feud in which Holly defeated Rhodes on the two following episodes of Raw.[38][39] On the October 22 episode of Raw, Holly became a fan favorite by saving Rhodes from the post-match assault of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas.[40] On the October 29 episode of Raw, Holly and Rhodes emerged victorious in a tag team match against Benjamin and Haas.[41] They earned a shot at the World Tag Team Championship by defeating Paul London and Brian Kendrick and The Highlanders in a WWE.com exclusive match after an Alabama Slam. Holly and Rhodes lost their title match, however, against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch at Survivor Series.[42]

On December 10, 2007, on the Raw 15th Anniversary episode, Holly along with Rhodes defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship.[43][44][45] The following week, Holly and Rhodes retained their title, in their first title defense, against Cade and Murdoch.[46] They successfully defended their title against the teams of Carlito and Santino Marella and Paul London and Brian Kendrick.[47][48] On June 29 at Night of Champions, Rhodes turned on Holly by defeating him with Ted DiBiase in a handicap match to crown the new team as champions. This was Holly's last WWE appearance.[49] After a seven-month inactivity, WWE announced that Holly was released from his WWE contract on January 16, 2009, and ending his 15-year tenure with the company.[50]

Independent circuit (2009–present)

In May 2009, Holly traveled to England and wrestled for Varsity Pro Wrestling. On May 26, Holly defeated The UK Kid in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match during which he sustained a rib injury.[6] Throughout mid-2009, Holly wrestled for National Wrestling Superstars, competing against wrestlers including Danny Demento, Salvatore Sincere, and DJ Hyde.[6]

On March 19, 2013, Holly, now bald and sporting a new tattoo, made a one night appearance for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as he took part in a six-man tag team match and teamed with James Storm and Magnus to defeat Aces & Eights (D.O.C., Wes Brisco, and Knux) at the TNA One Night Only event Hardcore Justice 2, which was aired on July 5, this was Holly's only match for TNA.

On June 14, 2014, Holly defeated Adam Pearce at House Of Hardcore 6.

In November 2014 he toured in United Kingdom and Germany.

Personal life

Howard worked as a trainer for Tough Enough II, a reality television show produced by WWE and MTV where participants underwent professional wrestling training and competed for a contract with WWE. The show caused some controversy when, during the course of a practice match, Howard stiffed a competitor, Matt Cappotelli, leaving him bleeding.[51][52] Cappotelli has since said that there is no ill-feeling between the two because of the incident.

Howard has a daughter named Stephanie.

The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story

Howard's autobiography, titled The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story was released in the United States on April 1, 2013. Co-authored by former British wrestler Ross Owen Williams, an actor and writer[53] who wrestled Holly in June 2010, it was published by ECW Press.[54]

Early reviews of the book were positive, with Nolan Howell of Canoe.ca describing it as a "straightforward look into the life of a man that has dedicated himself to the sport of professional wrestling" and has "an endearing, personal style that gives an apt representation of the author...For fans such as myself who appreciated the blunt style of the man known as Hardcore Holly, this ECW Press product will be an entertaining, worthwhile look into one of the unique personalities of professional wrestling."[55] Joe Babinsack, writing for the Wrestling Observer, described the book as "brutal, boisterous and definitely worth reading".[56] Bruce Mitchell, writing for the Pro Wrestling Torch, described the book as "hard-hitting, straightforward, and not very fancy", rating it "one of the strongest professional wrestling books in a long while".[57] Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer wrote, "in a lot of books, you think you're reading what the person writing feels is the right thing to say for their career... With Holly, whether you agree or not (and I agreed with some of his stuff, not others), I had no doubt he was giving his true opinions on things. In that sense, it was a very honest look at a period of WWF history from a guy who had ups and downs... but survived a long time."[58]

In wrestling

Holly preparing to deliver the Alabama Slam to Cody Rhodes
Holly performing his signature kick to the midsection of a rope hung Mr. Kennedy
Holly performing a dropkick on Mr. Kennedy

Championships and accomplishments

Bibliography

  • The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story (2013) (with Ross Williams)

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Operation Sandman Sturner Television film
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2005 MTV's The 70s House Himself Episode: "Dodge Ball"

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ California Births, 1905–1995
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/smw/smwthemes.html
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/KamikazeProUK/posts/982013551815862
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Script error: The function "top" does not exist.

Script error: The function "bottom" does not exist.

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Hardcore_Holly&oldid=2286645"