History Wrestling / BobHolly

!!! "How do you like my tropes now?":

* {{Jobber}}: Worked as an "underneath guy" for a majority of his career, but [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin J.O.B. Squad]] was the most obvious case

* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
** Back in 2000, he was in an off-screen relationship with the EMT Diva B.B. (real name Cathy Dingman) while he was in the process of divorcing his wife at the time. WWE canned Dingman for this, with Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys putting her through a table to send her out of WWE.[[note]]This obviously applies only to minor midcard characters, as opposed to the [[{{Wrestling/MattHardy}} Matt]]-[[Wrestling/{{Lita}} Lita]]-[[Wrestling/{{Edge}} Edge]] mess in 2005. [[/note]]
** His feud with Lesnar. After all, he legitimately broke his neck.

** Wrestling/JimCornette's NWA group.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: There are few to no common characteristics shared between Plugg and Hardcore.

* {{Jobber}}: Worked as an "underneath guy" for a majority of his career, but [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin J.O.B. Squad]]

* ImprobableWeaponUser: ''Oh boy''. He won his WrestleMania 2000 match by busting open Crash's [[InsistentTerminology skull]] with a cookie jar (though this is reputed to be a botched ending to the match), and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

* ADayInTheLimelight: His 2003/2004 main event feud with Brock Lesnar was his biggest ever push.

* {{Determinator}}: Sustained severe injuries in several matches, and ''finished them''. Possibly the most notable such occurrence would be his table match against Wrestling/RobVanDam in 2006, in which he sustained a ''huge'' gash on his back after a botched table landing. This is often described as one of the few moments of the "new" {{Wrestling/ECW}} that lived up to that promotion's legacy.

** A notable in-character moment would be his resisting CM Punk's (formerly) insta-kill Anaconda Vice and handing Punk his first ever WWE loss.

* EightiesHair: Spark plug, though his hair line was starting to recede.

* TheBully: Apparently, he has a reputation for being this backstage. But many wrestlers, like Maven, Spike Dudley, Al Snow, Wrestling/BillyGunn, Jackie Gayda & Charlie Haas all speak highly of him.
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: He's Saul Tigh with a nice dropkick.
** He's also a product of his environment; you read enough of these autobiographies coming out the WWE and you see why Holly is the go-to guy for hazing. Wrestling/VinceMcMahon was brought up in that environment too and he allows it to go on. It's alpha-male fraternizing with a side helping of carny wackiness.

* ContinuityNod: Before his now infamous match with Matt Cappotelli in OVW, Jim Cornette made sure to note his cousin was also going to be on the show, Wrestling/MollyHolly was taking on Wrestling/JillianHall

* StraightEdge: Is apparently this regarding alcohol and junk food, both in and out of character. One storyline with [[Wrestling/MikeBucci Simon Dean]] had him forced to eat a burger and fries, which he abhorred completely.

->[[BadassBoast If [Crash Holly defended the Hardcore Championship] 24/7, I'm gonna do it 48/14]], and how I about I start with you? How about, I could start with you, right here, right now? It doesn't matter to me, Wrestling/MichaelCole, 'cause I will '''break your ass in half''', you little [[PrecisionFStrike shithead]]!
->-- ''WrestleMania 2000 post-match interview''

'''Bob "Hardcore" Holly''' (born '''Robert William Howard''' on January 29, 1963) is an American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]], whose tenure with WWE [[LongRunner lasted from 1991 to 2008]]. Initially, Holly portrayed happy-go-lucky UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} racer turned wrestler Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, which failed to garner much success. During the second half of the decade, Holly became a member of the tongue-in-cheek J.O.B. Squad; the stable disbanded after Holly's win over Wrestling/AlSnow in one of the inaugural matches of the newly-created WWF Hardcore Championship, setting the tone for the [[GarbageWrestler hardcore wrestling]] division of WWF's Wrestling/AttitudeEra.

As per usual, TheOtherWiki has a detailed, lengthy [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_Holly write-up]] on Holly's career.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Delivered one to Cody Rhodes during their feud, to "bring out the fire" in the rookie.

* DrillSergeantNasty: His role in the second season of ''WWEToughEnough''.

'''Bob "Hardcore" Holly''' (born '''Robert William Howard''' on January 29, 1963) is an American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]], whose tenure with WWE [[LongRunner lasted from 1991 to 2008]]. Initially, Holly portrayed happy-go-lucky {{NASCAR}} racer turned wrestler Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, which failed to garner much success. During the second half of the decade, Holly became a member of the tongue-in-cheek J.O.B. Squad; the stable disbanded after Holly's win over Wrestling/AlSnow in one of the inaugural matches of the newly-created WWF Hardcore Championship, setting the tone for the [[GarbageWrestler hardcore wrestling]] division of WWF's Wrestling/AttitudeEra.

* Cloudcuckoolander: Hardcore Holly and Crash were convinced they were super heavyweights who came in and well over 400 pounds each on the scales. Now Bob was not exactly a small man but in reality, their combined weight didn't top 400 until Molly joined them.

* FunWithAcronyms: '''S'''parky '''T'''hurman '''P'''lugg is ostensibly a play on STP, the motor oil brand... which begs the question as to why the name ended up like it did.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: As Wrestling/{{Nova}} implied, he may have been known for being harsh to rookies, in and out of story but that many of the guys he beat on ''did'' deserve it. For example, he was sad when he went to town on Renee Dupree but it was for Dupree's own good since he had a drug problem and needed sense beaten into him.

* TagTeam: Part of three title-winning teams with 1-2-3 Kid, Crash Holly, and Cody Rhodes.
** The New Midnight Express, with Bart Gunn.

* WrestlingDoesntPay: All throughout his career, he maintained a secondary job as a race car driver.

* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: He's a capo with a nice dropkick. He's also a product of his environment; you read enough of these autobiographies coming out the WWE and you see why Holly is the go-to guy for hazing. Wrestling/VinceMcMahon was brought up in that environment too and he allows it to go on. It's alpha-male fraternizing with a side helping of carny wackiness.

* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: He's a capo with a nice dropkick. He's also a product of his environment; you read enough of these autobiographies coming out the WWE and you see why Holly is the go-to guy for hazing. Vince [=McMahon =] as brought up in that environment too and he allows it to go on. It's alpha-male fraternizing with a side helping of carny wackiness.

* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: He's a capo with a nice dropkick. He's also a product of his environment; you read enough of these autobiographies coming out the WWE and you see why Holly is the go-to guy for hazing. Vince [=McMahon =] as brought up in that environment too and he allows it to go on. It's alpha-male fraternizing with a big helping of carny weirdness.

* ItsPersonal: His 2003/2004 feud with Lesnar over the latter having broken his neck.
** Which was a direct result of Holly, notorious for hazing the rookies, deciding to NoSell a few of Lesnar's moves and "sandbag"... [[HoistByHisOwnPetard including the powerbomb that broke his neck]].
* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Most fans who've actually met Holly at autograph signings or whatever can attest to this.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Most fans who've actually met Holly at autograph signings or whatever can attest to this.

* DyeingForYourArt / DyeHard: Bob is a natural brunette.
* EnforcedMethodActing:
** The Cody Rhodes slap described above was not fake. Holly makes no secret of working stiff whenever he can.
** Most likely, Holly's hardcore match with then-WWE Champion Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield consisted of nothing but stiff shots.

* FanNickname: "Bobcore Holly" until he proved [[TookALevelInBadass he really is hardcore]]; "Baldcore Holly", thanks to Wrestling/ChrisJericho.

* RealitySubtext: His feud and eventual tag team with Cody Rhodes, who was a "rookie" he had to put up with. In real life, Holly is known for beating on rookies.

* TheBully: Apparently, he has a reputation for being this backstage. But many wrestlers, like Maven, Spike Dudley, Al Snow, Billy Gunn, Jackie Gayda & Charlie Haas all speak highly of him.

* CloudCukooLander: Hardcore Holly and Crash were convinced they were super heavyweights who came in and well over 400 pounds each on the scales. Now Bob was not exactly a small man but in reality, their combined weight didn't top 400 until Molly joined them.

* AnythingYouCanDoICanDoBetter: While [[Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick Spanky]] had mostly positive things to say about Bob Holly, he did not think he and Paul London were working out enough. But Spanky found out, while trying placate him, that any action regarding the gym that could be perceived as competitive brought a problem all its own, so he always made sure that his workout was less than Bob's.

* [[FailOSuckyName Fail O'Suckyname]]: Would ''you'' take a guy named Thurman "Sparky" Plugg seriously? Hell, even Holly himself hated it.

* TheBully: Apparently, he has a reputation for being this backstage. But many wrestlers, like Maven, Spike Dudley, Al Snow, Billy Gunn, Jackie Gayda & Charlie Hass all speak highly of him.

As per usual, TheOtherWiki has a detailed, lengthy [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Holly write-up]] on Holly's career.

* TheBully: Apparently, he has a reputation for being this backstage.