Robert Howard
Robert William Howard is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring names Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, Bob Holly, Bombastic Bob and Hardcore Holly. 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. During his career, Holly has held the WWF/E Hardcore Championship six times, the WWF/E 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. 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[63] who wrestled Holly in June 2010, it was published by ECW Press.
Reviews of the book were positive, with Nolan Howell of Canoe.com 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." Joe Babinsack, writing for the Wrestling Observer, described the book as "brutal, boisterous and definitely worth reading". 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". 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."
Acted in
WWE: WrestleMania Monday
2017
as Bob Holly
The History of The WWE Hardcore Championship
2016
WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2
2014
as Hardcore Holly
TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2
2013
as Bob Holly
WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matches
2012
WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary, 1999-2009
2012
as Hardcore Holly (archive footage)
WWE: OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History
2011
as Himself
Ring Roasts III: The Roast of Jim Cornette
2010
as Self
WWE: Satan's Prison - The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber
2010
as Hardcore Holly
YouShoot: Bob Holly
2010
as Himself
Chris Benoit: The Aftermath
2010
as Himself
The Marine 2
2009
as Linwood's Left
WWE Night of Champions 2008
2008
as Hardcore Holly
WWE WrestleMania XXIV
2008
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 2008
2008
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Survivor Series 2007
2007
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 2007
2007
as Hardcore Holly
ECW December to Dismember
2006
as Hardcore Holly
WWE ECW
2006
as Hardcore Holly
WWE WrestleMania 22
2006
as Hardcore Holly
WWE No Mercy 2005
2005
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Judgment Day 2005
2005
as Hardcore Holly
WWE WrestleMania 21
2005
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 2005
2005
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Armageddon 2004
2004
as Hardcore Holly
WWE The Great American Bash 2004
2004
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Judgment Day 2004
2004
as Hardcore Holly
WWE No Way Out 2004
2004
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 2004
2004
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Survivor Series 2003
2003
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Global Warning
2002
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Velocity
2002
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Wrestlemania X8
2002
as Hardcore Holly
WWF Action!
2001
as Hardcore Holly
WWF: Hardcore
2001
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Tough Enough
2001
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Insurrextion 2001
2001
as Hardcore Holly
WWE No Way Out 2001
2001
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 2001
2001
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Armageddon 2000
2000
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Survivor Series 2000
2000
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Backlash 2000
2000
as Hardcore Holly
WWE WrestleMania 2000
2000
as Hardcore Holly
Operation Sandman
2000
as Sturner
WWE Royal Rumble 2000
2000
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Armageddon 1999
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Survivor Series 1999
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE No Mercy 1999
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Rebellion 1999
1999
as Hardcore Holly
ECW on TNN
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE SummerSlam 1999
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE King of the Ring 1999
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Over the Edge
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE SmackDown
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Backlash: In Your House
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE WrestleMania XV
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House
1999
as Hardcore Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 1999
1999
as Bob Holly
Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows
1998
as Bob 'Spark Plugg' Holly (archive footage)
WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House
1998
as Bob Holly
WWE King of the Ring 1998
1998
as "Bombastic" Bob Holly
WWE Unforgiven: In Your House
1998
as "Bombastic" Bob
WWE WrestleMania XIV
1998
as "Bombastic" Bob Holly
WWE Survivor Series 1996
1996
as Bob Holly (Free-for-All)
WWE Royal Rumble 1996
1996
as Bob Holly
WWE Survivor Series 1995
1995
as Bob Holly
WWE SummerSlam 1995
1995
as Bob "Spark Plug" Holly
WWE King of the Ring 1995
1995
as Bob "Spark Plug" Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 1995
1995
as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
WWE WrestleFest '95
1995
as Bob Holly
WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 1994: Sunday Night Slam
1994
as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
WWE Royal Rumble 1994
1994
as Thurman "Sparky " Plugg
ECW Hardcore TV
1993
as Hardcore Holly
Raw
1993
as Thurman "Sparky " Plugg
Raw
1993
as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
Raw
1993
as Hardcore Holly
Raw
1993
as Bob Holly
Raw
1993
as Bombastic Bob
WWF Wrestling Challenge
1986
as Bob Holly