Robert Howard

Known for ActingBorn 1963-01-29 (age 63)Glendale, California, USA

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."Read more

Movies & web series

WWE: WrestleMania Monday

The History of The WWE Hardcore Championship

WWE: The Best of SmackDown - 10th Anniversary, 1999-2009

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

WWF Action!

WWE Hall Of Fame 1995

WWE Backlash: In Your House

ECW December to Dismember

WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2

ECW on TNN

WWE Unforgiven: In Your House

WWE Survivor Series 1999

WWE Insurrextion 2001

WWE Survivor Series 1995

WWE WrestleMania 21

WWE WrestleMania 22

WWE King of the Ring 1998

WWE Survivor Series 2007

WWE Wrestlemania X8

WWE WrestleMania XXIV

WWE No Way Out 2001

WWE Royal Rumble 2007

TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2

WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matches

WWE: OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History

WWE Survivor Series 2003

WWE King of the Ring 1999

WWE No Mercy 1999

WWE Royal Rumble 2005

WWE No Mercy 2005

WWE Global Warning

WWE Judgment Day 2004

WWE WrestleMania XIV

WWE Night of Champions 2008

WWE The Great American Bash 2004

WWE Armageddon 2000

WWE Backlash 2000

WWE Survivor Series 2000

WWE Royal Rumble 2008

WWE Armageddon 2004

Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows

WWE WrestleMania XV

WWE Friday Night SmackDown

WWE Royal Rumble 2001

WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House

WWE Tough Enough

WWE Survivor Series 1996

WWE SummerSlam 1999