About

Known credits:
66
Birthday:
1963-01-29
Place of birth:
Glendale, California, USA
Website:
N/A

Robert Howard

Overview

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

Acting

2017 WWE: WrestleMania Monday Actor Bob Holly 59
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2016 The History of The WWE Hardcore Championship Actor 59
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2014 WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2013 TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2 Actor Bob Holly 58
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2012 WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matches Actor 59
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2012 WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary, 1999-2009 Actor Hardcore Holly (archive footage) 59
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2011 WWE: OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History Actor Himself 59
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2010 Ring Roasts III: The Roast of Jim Cornette Actor Self N/A
N/A
2010 WWE: Satan's Prison - The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2010 YouShoot: Bob Holly Actor Himself N/A
N/A
2010 Chris Benoit: The Aftermath Actor Himself N/A
N/A
2009 The Marine 2 Actor Linwood's Left 58
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2008 WWE Night of Champions 2008 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2008 WWE WrestleMania XXIV Actor Hardcore Holly 60
Fair
2008 WWE Royal Rumble 2008 Actor Hardcore Holly 60
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2007 WWE Survivor Series 2007 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2007 WWE Royal Rumble 2007 Actor Hardcore Holly 60
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2006 ECW December to Dismember Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2006 WWE WrestleMania 22 Actor Hardcore Holly 61
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2005 WWE No Mercy 2005 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2005 WWE Judgment Day 2005 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2005 WWE WrestleMania 21 Actor Hardcore Holly 61
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2005 WWE Royal Rumble 2005 Actor Hardcore Holly 60
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2004 WWE Armageddon 2004 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2004 WWE The Great American Bash 2004 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2004 WWE Judgment Day 2004 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2004 WWE No Way Out 2004 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2004 WWE Royal Rumble 2004 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2003 WWE Survivor Series 2003 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2002 WWE Global Warning Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2002 WWE Wrestlemania X8 Actor Hardcore Holly 61
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2001 WWF Action! Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2001 WWF: Hardcore Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2001 WWE Insurrextion 2001 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2001 WWE No Way Out 2001 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2001 WWE Royal Rumble 2001 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
Average
2000 WWE Armageddon 2000 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
Average
2000 WWE Survivor Series 2000 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
Average
2000 WWE Backlash 2000 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2000 WWE WrestleMania 2000 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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2000 Operation Sandman Actor Sturner 59
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2000 WWE Royal Rumble 2000 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE Armageddon 1999 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
Average
1999 WWE Survivor Series 1999 Actor Hardcore Holly 60
Fair
1999 WWE No Mercy 1999 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
Average
1999 WWE Rebellion 1999 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE SummerSlam 1999 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE King of the Ring 1999 Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE Over the Edge Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE Backlash: In Your House Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE WrestleMania XV Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1999 WWE St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House Actor Hardcore Holly 59
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1998 Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows Actor Bob 'Spark Plugg' Holly (archive footage) 60
Fair
1998 WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House Actor Bob Holly 59
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1998 WWE King of the Ring 1998 Actor "Bombastic" Bob Holly 59
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1998 WWE Unforgiven: In Your House Actor "Bombastic" Bob 59
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1998 WWE WrestleMania XIV Actor "Bombastic" Bob Holly 59
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1996 WWE Survivor Series 1996 Actor Bob Holly (Free-for-All) 59
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1996 WWE Royal Rumble 1996 Actor Bob Holly 58
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1995 WWE Survivor Series 1995 Actor Bob Holly 59
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1995 WWE SummerSlam 1995 Actor Bob "Spark Plug" Holly 58
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1995 WWE King of the Ring 1995 Actor Bob "Spark Plug" Holly 59
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1995 WWE Royal Rumble 1995 Actor Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly 59
Average
1995 WWE WrestleFest '95 Actor Bob Holly N/A
N/A
1994 WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 1994: Sunday Night Slam Actor Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly N/A
N/A
1994 WWE Royal Rumble 1994 Actor Thurman "Sparky " Plugg 59
Average