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
All Movies (69)
- WWE: WrestleMania Monday2017 · as Bob Holly
- The History of The WWE Hardcore Championship2016
- WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 22014 · as Hardcore Holly
- TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 22013 · as Bob Holly
- WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matches2012
- WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary, 1999-20092012 · as Hardcore Holly (archive footage)
- WWE: OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History2011 · as Himself
- Ring Roasts III: The Roast of Jim Cornette2010 · as Self
- WWE: Satan's Prison - The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber2010 · as Hardcore Holly
- YouShoot: Bob Holly2010 · as Himself
- Chris Benoit: The Aftermath2010 · as Himself
- The Marine 22009 · as Linwood's Left
- Hard Knocks2009
- WWE Night of Champions 20082008 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE WrestleMania XXIV2008 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 20082008 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Survivor Series 20072007 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 20072007 · as Hardcore Holly
- ECW December to Dismember2006 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE WrestleMania 222006 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE No Mercy 20052005 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Judgment Day 20052005 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE WrestleMania 212005 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 20052005 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Armageddon 20042004 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE The Great American Bash 20042004 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Judgment Day 20042004 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE No Way Out 20042004 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 20042004 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Survivor Series 20032003 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Global Warning2002 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Wrestlemania X82002 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWF Action!2001 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWF: Hardcore2001 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Insurrextion 20012001 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE No Way Out 20012001 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 20012001 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Armageddon 20002000 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Survivor Series 20002000 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Backlash 20002000 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE WrestleMania 20002000 · as Hardcore Holly
- Operation Sandman2000 · as Sturner
- WWE Royal Rumble 20002000 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Armageddon 19991999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Survivor Series 19991999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE No Mercy 19991999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Rebellion 19991999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE SummerSlam 19991999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE King of the Ring 19991999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Over the Edge1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Backlash: In Your House1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE WrestleMania XV1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 19991999 · as Bob Holly
- Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows1998 · as Bob 'Spark Plugg' Holly (archive footage)
- WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House1998 · as Bob Holly
- WWE King of the Ring 19981998 · as "Bombastic" Bob Holly
- WWE Unforgiven: In Your House1998 · as "Bombastic" Bob
- WWE WrestleMania XIV1998 · as "Bombastic" Bob Holly
- WWE Survivor Series 19961996 · as Bob Holly (Free-for-All)
- WWE Royal Rumble 19961996 · as Bob Holly
- WWE Survivor Series 19951995 · as Bob Holly
- WWE SummerSlam 19951995 · as Bob "Spark Plug" Holly
- WWE King of the Ring 19951995 · as Bob "Spark Plug" Holly
- WWE Hall Of Fame 19951995 · as Self
- WWE Royal Rumble 19951995 · as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
- WWE WrestleFest '951995 · as Bob Holly
- WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 1994: Sunday Night Slam1994 · as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
- WWE Royal Rumble 19941994 · as Thurman "Sparky " Plugg
All TV Shows (16)
- WWE ECW2006 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Velocity2002 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Tough Enough2001 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Metal1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- ECW on TNN1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Friday Night SmackDown1999 · as Hardcore Holly
- WWE Friday Night SmackDown1999
- WWE Sunday Night Slam1994 · as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
- ECW Hardcore TV1993 · as Hardcore Holly
- Raw1993 · as Thurman "Sparky " Plugg
- Raw1993 · as Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly
- Raw1993 · as Hardcore Holly
- Raw1993 · as Bob Holly
- Raw1993 · as Bombastic Bob
- WWF Wrestling Challenge1986 · as Bob Holly
- WWE Pay Per View1985


