Hardcore Holly Robert William " Bob " Howard ( January 29 , 1963 ) better known by his ring name Bob " Hardcore " Holly , is an American professional wrestler and author . He is best known for his 15 - year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . 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 . In 2013 , his autobiography - entitled The Hardcore Truth : The Bob Holly story - was published by ECW Press to almost unanimously positive reviews . Professional wrestling career . Training . Holly trained under Stan Frazier , Eddie Sullivan , Marcelle Pringle and Rip Tyler , and debuted in 1987 in the Mobile area in the World Wrestling Organization promotion where he held titles on and off , including the WWO Tag Team Championship with Ron Starr . He wrestled as Bob Holly and teamed regularly with Robert Gibson . From there , he wrestled in Memphis and then in the NWA with moderate success before briefly going to Smoky Mountain Wrestling in early 1992 where he wrestled as " Hollywood " Bob Holly . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 1994 – 2009 ) . Early years ( 1994 – 1999 ) . Holly began working in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) in 1991 , working as an jobber , losing to established stars . Holly returned to the WWF on January 11 , 1994 . His initial gimmick was that of a NASCAR driver turned wrestler called Thurman " Sparky " Plugg , which was later changed to Bob " Spark Plug " Holly . At the Royal Rumble in January 1995 , Holly and the 1 - 2 - 3 Kid defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka in the finals of a tournament to crown new WWF Tag Team Champions . Their title reign lasted only one day , however , as the next day , on " WWF Monday Night Raw " , Holly and the Kid lost the tag team title to The Smoking Gunns . On the May 7 , 1995 ( taped April 26 , 1995 ) episode of " WWF Action Zone " , Holly pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett in a title match ; however , Jarrett had his foot on the ropes , which meant that the pin was illegal , and the title was ruled vacated . Later on in the show , Jarrett defeated Holly in a rematch for the vacant title after pinning Holly with a roll - up . Holly ' s title win is not recognized by WWE . Holly made very few appearances in the WWF throughout 1996 and 1997 . In February 1998 , Holly and Bart Gunn joined forces with Jim Cornette as part of Jeff Jarrett ' s National Wrestling Alliance stable . Holly , renamed " Bombastic Bob " , and Gunn , renamed " Bodacious Bart " were known collectively as The New Midnight Express . The New Midnight Express defeated The Headbangers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship on March 30 , 1998 and held the titles until August 14 of that year , when they were defeated by The Border Patrol . They challenged The New Age Outlaws for the World Tag Team Championship at the King of the Ring pay - per - view , but were unsuccessful . In November 1998 , Al Snow , Bob Holly and Scorpio united and formed the J . O . B . Squad . During that same month on an edition of " Raw " , they helped Mankind defeat Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man in a triple threat match . In February 1999 , both Scorpio and the Blue Meanie were released by the WWF while Gillberg was later phased out of storylines . After dwindling down to only two members , Snow wrestled against himself on an edition of " Raw " before Holly came down to the ring to prevent Snow from hurting himself , which led to the formal breakup of the J . O . B . Squad . Later that month at , Bob Holly , now renamed Hardcore Holly , defeated Snow for the WWF Hardcore Championship to permanently end the J . O . B . Squad . The Holly Cousins ( 1999 – 2001 ) . In 1999 , Holly entered the race for the WWF ' s new Hardcore Championship , winning it six times in total , and billing himself as Hardcore Holly . He teamed up with an on - screen cousin Crash Holly , with whom he won the WWF Tag Team Championship . In 2000 , Hardcore Holly challenged Chyna for a shot at the disputed Intercontinental Championship on " Raw is War " . He lost the match due to interference from Chris Jericho , and later lost a Triple Threat Match against Chyna and Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship at the 2000 Royal Rumble . Holly then missed several months of ring time due to a legitimately injured shoulder , suffered in a match with Kurt Angle . After his return , later in 2000 , another on - screen cousin , Molly Holly was introduced . SmackDown ! ( 2002 – 2006 ) . In 2002 , Holly became a villain on " SmackDown ! " and began a short feud with Randy Orton . Holly suffered a broken neck during a 2002 match against Brock Lesnar , when he was powerbomb ed neck first on the mat . He had a thirteen - month hiatus from wrestling after surgery . In October 2003 , Holly began training at Ohio Valley Wrestling , WWE ' s developmental territory , in preparation for his return to the main roster . Holly returned as a fan favorite at the Survivor Series pay - per - view in November 2003 for revenge . He challenged Lesnar to a match for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble , but lost . During 2004 and early 2005 , he formed short - lived tag teams with Billy Gunn , and later Charlie Haas in the hunt for the WWE Tag Team Championship , but was unsuccessful with both partners . He also failed to claim the WWE Championship from John " Bradshaw " Layfield in a hardcore match . In mid - 2005 , Holly went into singles competition trying to acquire the United States Championship from Orlando Jordan . After being defeated twice by Jordan , Holly finally managed to pick up a non - title win over Jordan via disqualification on " WWE Velocity " , which aired on August 6 , 2005 . Holly then entered a short feud with SmackDown ! newcomer , Mr . Kennedy . This feud climaxed on October 9 , 2005 at No Mercy , where Kennedy defeated Holly after a Green Bay Plunge . Holly then underwent several surgeries to repair nagging injuries . He was hospitalized after a staph infection developed in a right arm wound . The infection was possibly career - threatening , as doctors were worried at one point that the arm may have to be amputated . The subsequent treatments were a success , however . ECW ( 2006 – 2007 ) . Holly made a surprise appearance at WWE ' s ECW house show event on August 21 , 2006 in Allentown , Pennsylvania , defeating Balls Mahoney . Holly made his ECW television debut the next night , August 22 , appearing in a promo with Paul Heyman , and later attacking Rob Van Dam ( RVD ) and Danny Doring during a match . Holly , now as a heel , soon joined with Heyman and his other associates to feud with RVD and others . On September 26 , 2006 , Holly received 24 stitches from WWE Doctor Ferdinand Rios in his back after suffering a severe laceration during an Extreme Rules match against Rob Van Dam when he landed on the metal railing of a table he was suplexing Van Dam out of the ring and through during an ECW show in Tulsa , Oklahoma . Holly obtained the injury early in the match but continued to wrestle until the match ' s conclusion when he was pinned . After the match , as he was being helped out of the ring , he received a standing ovation from fans . The legitimate incident caused fans to cheer Holly in the following weeks , leading him to become a face character and a feud with Paul Heyman ' s other enforcer Test . His second to latest run as a face was short lived as he eventually turned on Rob Van Dam when they were partners in a tag match . When Sabu was found kayfabe unconscious in the locker room area before the Extreme Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember , Holly was chosen as his replacement . Holly entered with Rob Van Dam as the first of two combatants . He was the second to be eliminated ; he was eliminated by Test by a running big boot . Subsequently , he entered into a feud with CM Punk whereby Holly , now a tweener , showed his endurance by surviving Punk ' s Anaconda Vice submission hold . Holly then gave Punk his first loss in ECW ; Punk had been undefeated for half a year . After Test replaced Holly in a match against ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley , Holly vowed he would become champion whether he faced Test or Lashley . Holly then was one of ECW superstars entered in the Royal Rumble , but was eliminated by The Great Khali . Holly soon became the number one contender for Lashley ' s ECW Championship and faced off against Lashley , albeit unsuccessfully . On April 3 , 2007 , Holly lost to Snitsky . After the match , Snitsky wedged Holly ' s arm between the steel steps and repeatedly hit the steps with a steel chair , resulting in a broken arm in the storyline . Holly had surgery on April 16 because of a staph infection and missed around five months . Alliance with Cody Rhodes ; departure ( 2007 – 2009 ) . Holly was drafted back to SmackDown ! from ECW on June 17 , 2007 as part of the Supplemental Draft . Despite this , he returned to the ring as a member of the Raw brand on September 24 , 2007 , defeating Cody Rhodes , and starting a " respect " feud in which Holly defeated Rhodes on the two following episodes of " Raw " . On the October 22 episode of " Raw " , Holly became a fan favorite by saving Rhodes from the post - match assault of Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas . On the October 29 episode of " Raw " , Holly and Rhodes emerged victorious in a tag team match against Benjamin and Haas . They earned a shot at the World Tag Team Championship by defeating Paul London and Brian Kendrick and The Highlanders in a WWE . com exclusive match after an Alabama Slam . Holly and Rhodes lost their title match , however , against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch at Survivor Series . On December 10 , 2007 , on the " Raw " 15th Anniversary episode , Holly along with Rhodes defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship . The following week , Holly and Rhodes retained their title , in their first title defense , against Cade and Murdoch . They successfully defended their title against the teams of Carlito and Santino Marella and Paul London and Brian Kendrick . At Night of Champions on June 29 , 2008 , Rhodes turned on Holly by defeating him with Ted DiBiase in a handicap match to crown the new team as champions . This was his last appearance in WWE as , on January 16 , 2009 , Holly was released from his WWE contract , after 15 years with the company . Independent circuit ( 2009 – present ) . In May 2009 , Holly travelled to England and wrestled for Varsity Pro Wrestling . On May 26 , Holly defeated The UK Kid in a Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match during which he sustained a rib injury . Throughout mid - 2009 , Holly wrestled for National Wrestling Superstars , competing against wrestlers including Danny Demento , Sal Sincere , and DJ Hyde . Holly took part in a six - man tag team match teaming with James Storm and Magnus defeating Aces & Eights ( D . O . C . , Wes Brisco , and Knox ) at the TNA One Night Only event Hardcore Justice 2 . Personal life . Howard worked as a trainer for " Tough Enough II " , a reality television show produced by WWE and MTV where participants underwent professional wrestling training and competed for a contract with WWE . The show caused some controversy when , during the course of a practice match , Howard assaulted a competitor , Matt Cappotelli , leaving him bleeding . Cappotelli has since said that there is no ill - feeling between the two because of the incident . " The Hardcore Truth : The Bob Holly Story " . On the October 17 , 2011 , the Canadian Online Explorer website announced that Howard ' s autobiography , entitled " The Hardcore Truth " , would be released in early 2013 . Co - authored by former British wrestler Ross Williams , an actor and writer who actually wrestled Holly in June 2010 , the book was acquired to be published by ECW Press . The book was released in the United States on April 1 , 2013 . Early reviews of the book were positive , with Nolan Howell of Slam ! Sports 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 " . Howell continues " 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 . " Dave Meltzer posted on his 3 / 28 / 13 Wrestling Observer blog that " 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 . " The book was published May 9 , 2013 .