10 Most Old School Wrestlers Of WWE's Modern Era

Respect is a big thing with Holly, maybe the biggest thing. A tough, stiff, hugely underrated worker (his dropkick was and still is poetry in motion), he never really received the attention he deserved in his WWF/E career, receiving the usual McMahon broken promises and blatant lies about his push and where his career might be going.

Holly was trained the hard way by Bob Sweetan and Rip Tyler, two of the territorial era’s toughest, meanest journeymen. Back in their day, the locker room policed itself - it had to. If pride was the force kept them moving from town to town and angling to improve on the spot they had, then respect was the force that kept them from killing each other.

When small problems arose, they had to be dealt with quickly and effectively to prevent the real problems. Real problems like the fight between Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious in 1993 that resulted in both men being hospitalised with multiple stab wounds, or the knife attack in Puerto Rico that ended the life of the legendary Bruiser Brody.

With the rose tinted glasses typical of wrestling fans, it’s conveniently forgotten that Bob Holly wasn’t the only man hauling up cheeky rookies or potatoing repeat offenders. Crowd favourites like the Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Andre The Giant, Rick Rude, Chris Jericho and many others have all done likewise. Recently, CM Punk has said that the WWE roster could do with a guy like Bob right now.

A lot of nonsense gets talked about Holly’s so-called bullying ways backstage, so much drama huffed up over such small things. It’s not like Rene Dupree or Matt Cappotelli received a prison beating with a foot of lead pipe. A thick lip and a black eye aren’t exactly career ending injuries.

There’s a time honoured tradition of stiffing the rookies for a reason. Wrestling is a trade that requires you to be tough deep down in your bones to make it work. Falling down for a living hurts. Some people are stiffer than others, and not every punch or kick that connects is deliberate. And then some of them are, and you have to be tough enough (if you’ll excuse the expression) to roll with them, too.

Bob Holly might not always have been sweetness and light, and may not have been the most popular man in the WWF/E locker room: but, in true old school fashion, he stood up for himself and for the business because he felt it needed doing.