10 WWE Wrestlers You Can’t Believe Got Over

3. Hardcore Holly

Hardcore Holly
WWE

Bruce Prichard tells a phenomenal story about Bob Holly in his podcast. It might be bullsh*t - Prichard is loose with the truth - but it's still funny. In the collaborative environment of the Attitude Era, the office fished for the creative input of the roster. Up stepped Hardcore Holly and his big sales pitch.

"Hey, I've got an idea - why don't you give me the belt?"

At this point, Prichard, perhaps confused as to why a career midcard act would deem himself worthy of the richest prize, asked Holly to elaborate.

"Then I'd beat everybody!"

It's this bullheaded certainty that has secured Holly's unlikely status as an enduring fan favourite. Hardcore Holly is a bad man - terrifying - but his Sparky Plugg gimmick was such a shocker that it rendered him utterly feckless. As it transpired, that was actually impossible; Holly, over time, became such a believable hard man that Attitude Era fans were practically moved into a reaction out of sheer fear. Holly was never the best wrestler, nor the most eloquent - but there are few you'd rather not get on the wrong side of.

Threatening to break that "little sh*thead" Michael Cole's "ass in half" almost certainly helped.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!