Bob Holly started his pro wrestling career in 1987, making appearances in WCW and WWE as a jobber before finally getting a push in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in the early 1990s. In 1994, he made an official debut in WWE, where he would work under a few different gimmicks including Bombastic Bob and Hardcore Holly. Over the course of his 15-year run with the company, he’d capture 10 championships, but no world titles.
Having stuck around through several major eras of WWE, Holly has a whole lot of stories and experiences during his time -- enough to release a whole book about it, which he did in 2013.
10 Asked for a Name Change
When Bob Holly made his official WWE debut in 1994, he worked under one of the many occupational gimmicks WWE had going at the time. Holly actually raced cars before signing with WWE, so his gimmick was Thurman “Sparky” Plugg, a NASCAR driver who was also a wrestler for some reason. It’s a very silly name, and Holly must have agreed because he actually approached Vince McMahon to request a name change. And he ended up getting it, becoming Bob “Spark Plug” Holly.
9 He Got an Offer From WCW
Bob Holly made an appearance in WCW in 1991, working as a jobber in a losing effort against The Fabulous Freebirds, but ended up getting an offer from WCW in the late 1990s. According to Holly, Eric Bischoff was willing to double what WWE was paying him, but he wasn’t interested in the offer. Bob Holly, claiming to value loyalty over money, chose to remain loyal to Vince McMahon and WWE.
8 Competing In (& Betting On) Brawl For All
In 1998, WWE ran one of its strangest concepts: “Brawl For All, a legitimate shootfighting tournament where the winner would get a heap of cash. Made up of wrestlers who weren’t doing anything who felt capable of putting on a real fight, both Bob Holly and his New Midnight Express tag partner, Bart Gunn, took part in the tournament, with Gunn ultimately winning.
Holly was eliminated from the tournament early by his partner but has the distinction of being the only guy Gunn couldn’t beat by knockout. After losing, Holly would watch the matches with other wrestlers backstage, betting money that Bart Gunn would win.
7 Getting Twix from Chyna
The overall story of Chyna is tragic, but for a period in WWE, she was a unique star, especially considering how the company presented its Women’s Division at the time. Hardcore Holly had a pseudo friendship with her for a brief period, as Chyna would often bring him Twix bars and call him “Twixy.”
However, according to Holly, that disappeared once D-Generation X became ridiculously popular and she started refusing to acknowledge wrestlers lower on the card -- even when he was feuding with her for the Intercontinental Championship.
6 Nearly Lost His Arm
Hardcore Holly has sustained several injuries over the course of his career including a broken neck (see below), but Holly found himself in a scary situation in 2006 as he had a staph infection in his elbow. Untreated staph infections can be fatal, and Holly’s infection had spread to the bone, creating the possibility that doctors would need to amputate his arm. However, Holly managed to recover thanks to antibiotics and surgery.
5 He Almost Saw Chris Benoit On THAT Day
One of pro wrestling’s most shocking and horrifying tragedies occurred in June of 2007, as Chris Benoit took the lives of his wife, son, and himself. Benoit was good friends with Bob Holly, who happened to be taking time off near the Benoit residence on that fateful day.
Chris Benoit invited him over to his house, but Holly declined and the incident occurred hours later. Bob Holly is likely one of the last people to speak with Benoit and has wondered if visiting would have changed the outcome of that day.
4 Beating Up a Tough Enough Contestant
WWE’s reality game show, Tough Enough, had WWE hopefuls competing for a WWE contract. Hardcore Holly was a trainer on the show and was reportedly determined to show that he was a tougher dude than the other trainers.
During a tag team match, this attitude turned ugly as Holly legitimately beat down contestant Matt Cappotelli in the ring, leaving the young man bloodied and bruised. It was a notorious incident that added to Holly’s reputation as a backstage bully.
3 Keeping Steve Blackman From Killing JBL
Speaking of backstage bullies, JBL is also known for his toxic behind-the-scenes antics, setting his sights on Steve Blackman as his target at one point in 1998. At an airport, Hardcore Holly was hanging out with Blackman, when a drunk JBL decided to mess with Blackman. A tussle ensued, and Holly held back an extremely determined Steve Blackman lest things turn really ugly. According to Holly, Blackman seemed willing to irreparably harm JBL.
2 Getting Chastised For A Crude Line
Because the Attitude Era was known for its edgy content, it may surprise fans to find out that sometimes WWE reprimanded performers for pushing the envelope too far. During his aforementioned title feud with Chyna, Holly cut a heel promo about how he doesn’t believe women belong in the kitchen, but rather in the bedroom -- though he said that last part in a much more offensive way. Holly ended up getting chastised by management for his flagrant choice of words but was annotated when he’d later hear Triple H used the same exact phrase in a promo.
1 Brock Lesnar Broke His Neck
In 2002, Hardcore Holly took possibly the worst injury of his career in a bout with Brock Lesnar on SmackDown. Lesnar picked Holly up for a powerbomb, but something went wrong on the way down and the maneuver suddenly turned into an unintentional Ganso Bomb, breaking Holly’s neck. Hardcore Holly ended up out of action for over a year, returning in November 2003 to get kayfabe revenge. The two would have a WWE Title match at Royal Rumble in 2004, which Lesnar would win.
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