WWE superstar Hardcore Holly was born Robert Howard on January 29, 1963.  He made his professional debut in 1990 with Smoky Mountain Wrestling.  During his 15 year stint, he won the WWE Hardcore title six times, the Tag title three times, and the NWA World Tag title once.  Before joining the WWE in 1991, he worked on the independent circuit for a few years. 

Holly first worked an enhancement talent, a term used for wrestlers who lost to make the big-name stars look good.  In 1994, he began wrestling in main events as Sparky Plug.  He then joined the 1-2-3 Kid to win the tag title at the 1995 Royal Rumble, and in May, he almost claimed the Intercontinental title.  His pin was later declared illegal and the title was declared vacant.

Holly didn’t appear regularly during 1996 or 1997, and in 1998, he joined the National Wrestling Alliance stable.  He took the name Bombastic Bob and joined with joined Bodacious Bar in a tag team. 

In 1999, he took the name Hardcore Holly and joined his “cousins” Molly and Crash in the Holly family stable.  His main focus was the Hardcore title, which he would win six times during his career.  However, after suffering a broken neck in 2002, Holly was forced out of the ring for more than a year.  He did recover, however, and rejoined the WWE after training at Ohio Valley Wrestling for several months.  After returning, he worked with Billy Gunn and Charlie Haas.  In 2005, he was once again on the sidelines due to repeat injuries and a staph infection.

During 2006 and 2007, Holly made several appearances on ECW, although he was once again injured during a match.  He suffered from another staph infection in 2007, however, and was out of the ring for five months.

In 2007, he and Cody Rhodes formed a tag team, and they won the title in December.  However, Rhodes betrayed Holly in June of 2008, leaving him solo for the rest of the year.  In January of 2009, the WWE released Holly from his contract.