
Robert Howard
Acting
1963-01-29 - Present
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."
Credits

WWE WrestleMania XXIVasHardcore Holly

The Marine 2asLinwood's Left

WWE WrestleMania 2000asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2000asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 1999asBob Holly

WWE Wrestlemania X8asHardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania 22asHardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania 21asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2007asHardcore Holly

WWE WrestleMania XIVas"Bombastic" Bob Holly

WWE: OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE HistoryasHimself

WWE Royal Rumble 2001asHardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 1999asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2004asHardcore Holly

WWE Armageddon 1999asHardcore Holly

WWE King of the Ring 1998as"Bombastic" Bob Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2008asHardcore Holly

WWE Backlash 2000asHardcore Holly

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

WWE Survivor Series 2007asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 2005asHardcore Holly

WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2asHardcore Holly

WWE Night of Champions 2008asHardcore Holly

WWE King of the Ring 1999asHardcore Holly

WWE SummerSlam 1999asHardcore Holly

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With ShadowsasBob 'Spark Plugg' Holly (archive footage)

WWE Royal Rumble 1996asBob Holly

WWE Rebellion 1999asHardcore Holly

WWE Unforgiven: In Your Houseas"Bombastic" Bob

WWE Survivor Series 2003asHardcore Holly
WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matchesas

WWE Survivor Series 1996asBob Holly (Free-for-All)

WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary, 1999-2009asHardcore Holly (archive footage)

WWE WrestleMania XVasHardcore Holly

WWE Rock Bottom: In Your HouseasBob Holly

WWE No Way Out 2001asHardcore Holly

WWE No Mercy 1999asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 1994asThurman "Sparky " Plugg

ECW December to DismemberasHardcore Holly

WWE St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your HouseasHardcore Holly

WWE: WrestleMania MondayasBob Holly

WWE Armageddon 2004asHardcore Holly

WWE Backlash: In Your HouseasHardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 2000asHardcore Holly

WWE Armageddon 2000asHardcore Holly

TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2asBob Holly

WWE Global WarningasHardcore Holly

WWE Survivor Series 1995asBob Holly

The History of The WWE Hardcore Championshipas

WWE No Mercy 2005asHardcore Holly

WWE Over the EdgeasHardcore Holly

WWE King of the Ring 1995asBob "Spark Plug" Holly

WWE Judgment Day 2005asHardcore Holly

WWE Royal Rumble 1995asBob "Spark Plugg" Holly

WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 1994: Sunday Night SlamasBob "Spark Plugg" Holly

WWE Insurrextion 2001asHardcore Holly

WWE SummerSlam 1995asBob "Spark Plug" Holly

WWE WrestleFest '95asBob Holly

WWE The Great American Bash 2004asHardcore Holly

Operation SandmanasSturner

WWF: HardcoreasHardcore Holly

Chris Benoit: The AftermathasHimself

Ring Roasts III: The Roast of Jim CornetteasSelf

WWE Judgment Day 2004asHardcore Holly

WWE No Way Out 2004asHardcore Holly

WWF Action!asHardcore Holly

YouShoot: Bob HollyasHimself