Robert Howard

Biography

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."

Known For

Self

Ring Roasts III: The Roast of Jim Cornette

Bob 'Spark Plugg' Holly (archive footage)

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows

Bob Holly

WWE WrestleFest '95

Hardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 2003

Hardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2004

Hardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2005

Hardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2000

Hardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2008

Hardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2001

Hardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2007

Himself

Chris Benoit: The Aftermath

Linwood's Left

The Marine 2

Hardcore Holly

WWE No Way Out 2004

Hardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania XV

Hardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 1999

Hardcore Holly

WWE Backlash 2000

Bob "Spark Plug" Holly

WWE SummerSlam 1995

Bob Holly

WWE Survivor Series 1995

Bob "Spark Plug" Holly

WWE King of the Ring 1995

Bob Holly

WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House

Hardcore Holly

WWE Over the Edge

Hardcore Holly

WWE St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House

Hardcore Holly

WWE Backlash: In Your House

Hardcore Holly

WWE King of the Ring 1999

Hardcore Holly

WWE SummerSlam 1999

Hardcore Holly

WWE Rebellion 1999

Hardcore Holly

WWE No Mercy 1999

Hardcore Holly

WWE Armageddon 1999

Hardcore Holly

WWE No Way Out 2001

"Bombastic" Bob Holly

WWE King of the Ring 1998

"Bombastic" Bob

WWE Unforgiven: In Your House

Hardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 2000

Hardcore Holly

WWE Armageddon 2000

Hardcore Holly

WWE Insurrextion 2001

Hardcore Holly

WWE Armageddon 2004

Hardcore Holly

WWE Judgment Day 2005

Hardcore Holly

WWE No Mercy 2005

Hardcore Holly

WWE Global Warning

Hardcore Holly

ECW December to Dismember

Hardcore Holly

WWE The Great American Bash 2004

Hardcore Holly

WWE Judgment Day 2004

Hardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 2007

Hardcore Holly

WWE Night of Champions 2008

Hardcore Holly

WWF: Hardcore

WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matches

The History of The WWE Hardcore Championship

Bob Holly (Free-for-All)

WWE Survivor Series 1996

Hardcore Holly

WWF Action!

Bob Holly

WWE: WrestleMania Monday

Himself

YouShoot: Bob Holly

Hardcore Holly

WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2

Hardcore Holly (archive footage)

WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary, 1999-2009

Hardcore Holly

WWE: Satan's Prison - The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber

Hardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania 2000

Hardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania XXIV

Himself

WWE: OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History

Hardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania 21

Hardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania 22

Hardcore Holly

WWE Wrestlemania X8

Bob Holly

TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2

"Bombastic" Bob Holly

WWE WrestleMania XIV

Bob Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 1996

Thurman "Sparky " Plugg

WWE Royal Rumble 1994

Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly

WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 1994: Sunday Night Slam

Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 1995

Sturner

Operation Sandman

Bob Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 1999

Hard Knocks