11 WWF Title Challengers No One Remembers

Ironically the biggest push of Hardcore Holly's life happened after Brock Lesnar broke his neck.

Up until that point, Holly had been seen as a lowly jobber, firstly working a lame NASCAR gimmick as Sparky Plugg. He later enjoyed some success in the lower card, much of it related to the Hardcore title, but never anything serious.

Fueled by real life heat, he returned to action helping secure a victory for Team Benoit against Team Lesnar at Survivor Series 2003. Holly would then go on to challenge Brock for the title at Royal Rumble 2004 in a quick match that didn't even go past seven minutes.

Oddly enough, that wouldn't be the end of Hardcore Holly's shots, as he would later get a chance against JBL in a street fight on a fun episode of SmackDown which was taped in England. Predictably, it was a hardcore affair, with Holly even breaking out a cricket bat in an effort to dethrone the champion. But JBL, thanks a to a well-placed chair shot, managed to keep his reign of terror alive.

Holly stayed with the company for quite a while, bouncing around between SmackDown, ECW, and Raw, always respected as a leader of the locker room. His last big push came as a tag team champion with the young Cody Rhodes.