Mid 20th Century
155-552: Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly . He is best known for his tenure in WWE . After debuting in 1987, Holly worked for World Organization of Wrestling, 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
310-438: A U.S. Express reunion with Mike Rotunda in a loss to Larry Zbyszko and "The Outlaw" Ron Bass at WrestleReunion I on January 29, 2005, and on the "WrestleMania Rewind" episode of WWE Monday Night Raw on March 10, 2008, appearing with Rotunda to reform the U.S. Express one final time against The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in a rematch from WrestleMania I , although the match never commenced. Windham worked as
465-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
620-559: A heel cowboy type character. He went undefeated for four months and was to have been on Randy Savage 's Survivor Series team, but was replaced by the Earthquake as Windham left the company in October due to his family's involvement in a counterfeiting scandal. On May 5, 1990, Windham made a surprise return to World Championship Wrestling , interfering in a match between US Champion Lex Luger and World Champion Ric Flair. Following
775-594: A house show in Hartford, CT . At the first-ever WrestleMania , US Express dropped the titles to The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff . On the July 13 edition of Championship Wrestling , they beat Sheik and Volkoff for their second and final WWF Tag Team Championship, which they lost to Dream Team ( Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake ) in Philadelphia at The Spectrum on August 24. After departing from
930-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
1085-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
1240-479: 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
1395-818: A tag team in 1984. The duo captured the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship three times between March and May 1984. Rotunda and Windham were signed by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in October 1984. They debuted in WWF as babyfaces on the November 17, 1984 edition of Maple Leaf Wrestling defeating Mohammed Saad and Bobby Bass . Their tag team was named " The U.S. Express ". They quickly made impact in WWF's tag team division as they beat North South Connection ( Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis ) for their first WWF Tag Team Championship on January 21, 1985, at
1550-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
1705-489: A break from wrestling from 2010 until 2013. On March 19, 2013, Holly, now bald and sporting a new tattoo, made a one night appearance for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as he took part in a six-man tag team match and teamed with James Storm and Magnus to defeat Aces & Eights ( D.O.C. , Wes Brisco , and Knux ) at the TNA One Night Only event Hardcore Justice 2 , which was aired on July 5, this
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#17328017332591860-411: A brief "respect" feud between the two, with Holly defeating Rhodes on the next two episodes of Raw . On the October 22 episode of Raw, Holly turned into a fan favorite when he saved Rhodes from a post-match assault by Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas . Holly and Rhodes subsequently teamed up and emerged victorious in a tag team match against Benjamin and Haas the following week. Their teamwork led to
2015-464: A car door on Windham's hand, breaking it, and putting him out of action for a while (including that night's Chamber of Horrors match). That also led to Ricky Steamboat stepping in as the mystery partner for Rhodes at Clash of the Champions XVII that November. Steamboat and Rhodes won the titles. Windham, meanwhile, would come back a couple of months later to feud with Anderson, Zbyszko, and
2170-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
2325-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
2480-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
2635-544: A contract with WWE. In 2002, Holly turned heel on SmackDown! and began a short feud with Randy Orton . He then had a minor feud with Kurt Angle after eliminating him from a battle royal, turning him face again. On the September 12, 2002, edition of SmackDown! , Holly suffered a broken neck during a match against Brock Lesnar , when he was powerbombed neck first on the mat. He had a thirteen-month hiatus from wrestling after surgery. While awaiting surgery, Holly made
2790-490: A daughter named Stephanie from his first marriage. In 2009, Howard moved to Dubuque as he reconnected with his high school girlfriend, Linda Kievet. Howard has been married to Kievet since 2010. Howard's autobiography, titled The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story was released in the United States on April 1, 2013. Co-authored by former British wrestler Ross Owen Williams, an actor and writer who wrestled Holly in June 2010, it
2945-482: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler . The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan , he
3100-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
3255-573: A dominant US Champion, who reigned for nine months. He defended the title against the likes of Brad Armstrong , Dusty Rhodes, Sting and Bam Bam Bigelow before dropping it to Lex Luger at Chi-Town Rumble in February 1989. His contract expired in March 1989. Windham returned to the WWF in June 1989 as the Widowmaker. Despite the nickname, Windham did not change his image much, portraying
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#17328017332593410-499: 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 on December 3, 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
3565-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
3720-509: A final appearance at a World Championship Wrestling taping on January 21 teaming with Dave Johnson in an unsuccessful effort against The Freebirds in a match that aired February 9, 1991. Two months later Holly made his initial appearance in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Again, he was portrayed as a jobber using the name "Bob Holly". His sole match was teaming with Mike Sample in a loss to The Bushwhackers on
3875-418: A guest appearance on Tough Enough III . The show caused some controversy when, during the course of a practice match, Howard stiffed a competitor, Matt Cappotelli , leaving him bleeding. Cappotelli later said that there was no ill-feeling between the two because of the incident. In October 2003, Holly began training at Ohio Valley Wrestling , WWE's developmental territory , in preparation for his return to
4030-479: A heel, soon joined with Heyman and his other associates to feud with Van Dam 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
4185-608: A house show in Atlanta, GA. He defeated Doug Furnas on June 13, 1990 Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush . He spent most of the time that year in tag team matches with the other Horsemen as partners. At Halloween Havoc 1990 , Windham was involved in a controversial match between Sid Vicious and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting . Vicious appeared to pin Sting and win the championship, but it
4340-417: A house show. Windham left for WCW again. In his last World Championship Wrestling run, Barry Windham was brought back to WCW in late-1998 by Eric Bischoff . Barry was then loosely associated with Bischoff's nWo Hollywood for a while before forming a tag team with Curt Hennig . At SuperBrawl IX , Hennig and Windham defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in the finals of a tag team tournament to win
4495-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
4650-443: A little over 25 minutes of action. Windham spent the rest of 1987 in midcard status. On June 20, 1987, Windham defeated Black Bart in a tournament final to win the short-lived NWA Western States Heritage Championship , becoming first champion. He defended the title against the likes of Rick Steiner , Big Bubba Rogers . The title was also recognized by Bill Watts ' Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). He began climbing up
4805-742: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
Hardcore Holly - Misplaced Pages Continue
4960-633: A mechanic for Meineke (supplementing his income by boxing in bars) before joining Taylor Wharton as a pipe cutter, where he trained as a welder . Howard later moved to Cowin Equipment, where he worked as a mechanic and welder. Holly trained under Bob Sweetan , Marcelle Pringle, and Rip Tyler, and debuted in 1987 in the Mobile area in the World Organization Of Wrestling promotion where he held titles on and off, including
5115-472: A member of each team was pinned. In 1991, Windham continued teaming with Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious. Windham feuded with Brian Pillman in the spring of 1991, culminating in a taped fist match at SuperBrawl I: Return of the Rising Sun , which Windham won. As the middle of the year approached, controversy erupted when WCW World Heavyweight Champion , Ric Flair, was fired by the company, causing
5270-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
5425-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
5580-616: A producer for WWE. In 2007, he appeared on the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD. Barry was also seen during the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame broadcast, sitting next to former partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield . In June 2007, Windham did the introduction of SuperBrawl III for WWE 24/7 . On December 31, 2008, he was released by the WWE. Windham wrestled his final match in February 2010 for American Combat Wrestling. Windham appeared at
5735-400: 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
5890-597: A six-man tag match. At Survivor Series , Holly faced William Regal for the WWF European Championship but lost by disqualification. Holly got a rematch at the title at Armageddon but was defeated by Regal. At the Royal Rumble , Holly competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by The Undertaker. In February, Holly won the Hardcore title three more times, but each time re-lost
6045-533: 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. Hardcore Holly was drafted back to SmackDown! from ECW on June 17, 2007, as part of the Supplemental Draft . Despite his draft, Holly would return to in-ring action on the Raw brand by September 24, 2007, defeating the rookie Cody Rhodes. This match initiated
6200-593: A stern and punishing persona in the process. After taking up the Hardcore Holly gimmick, he was joined by on-screen cousins Crash in 1999 and Molly in 2000. In 2002, Hardcore Holly suffered a broken neck during a match with Brock Lesnar , which sidelined him for over a year. Upon his return, he engaged in a major feud with Lesnar for the WWE Championship and minor feuds with other wrestlers, such as Mr. Kennedy and Rob Van Dam . He later formed
6355-455: A successful pairing with Ron Garvin . On December 9, 1986, Windham and Garvin defeated Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khruschev . for the U.S. tag team championship. Their biggest feud as a team was with The Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane ), managed by Jim Cornette . The Midnight Express were never able to beat Windham and Garvin for the titles. Windham and Garvin eventually lost these titles to Ivan Koloff and Dick Murdoch in
Hardcore Holly - Misplaced Pages Continue
6510-514: A tag team combination with Cody Rhodes in 2007. Holly was released from WWE in 2009, wrestling only intermittently on the independent circuit afterwards. He published his autobiography, The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story , in 2013. Championships held by Holly over the course of his career include the WWF/E World Tag Team Championship , NWA World Tag Team Championship , and WWF Hardcore Championship . Howard
6665-456: A title match, but as Jarrett had his foot on the ropes the title was 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 no longer recognized by WWE. Holly then competed in the 1995 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Mantaur to qualify before losing to The Roadie in the quarterfinals. He was then
6820-572: A title opportunity when they defeated Paul London and Brian Kendrick and The Highlanders in a WWE.com exclusive match, courtesy of Holly's Alabama Slam . Holly and Rhodes, however, were unsuccessful in their challenge for the World Tag Team Championship at Survivor Series on November 18 against the reigning champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch . Despite this setback, on the December 10, 2007, episode of Raw during
6975-420: A triple threat match, as Mankind (though not a member of the stable) became a close associate. At 1998's Survivor Series pay-per-view, Holly and Scorpio defeated The Legion of Doom ( Animal and Droz ) in a warmup match. Two months later at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Holly and Scorpio notably defeated Too Much in one of the warmup matches. In February 1999, the members gradually drifted apart: Scorpio
7130-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
7285-438: A very serious stroke or a massive heart attack and was in an ICU unit. He was found at his ranch by his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda . His family confirmed that Windham suffered a heart attack. His father Blackjack Mulligan posted a message to Facebook saying "I have a son near death". The title was won by Windham and Blanchard in a small North Carolina NWA affiliated promotion. However, it should not be confused with
7440-404: A veteran tag team run alongside Billy Gunn. However, the team was non-responsive, and after further attempts to pitch his ideas through key backstage supporters including John Laurinaitis , Holly received word that there were no plans for his return. According to Holly, Laurinaitis had advocated on his behalf, but the final decision from Creative was a dismissal of his contributions. Disappointed by
7595-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
7750-618: A vignette on the August 10, 1996 edition of WWF Superstars . His first match back came nine days later, when he defeated Justin Bradshaw in a dark match at a Monday Night RAW taping in Wheeling, WV. Windham portrayed a deranged "Forest Stalker" gimmick called "The Stalker". He was to be wearing camouflage face paint, while originally being supposed to feud with Marc Mero , but the angle was dropped due to Mero's request. Originally, his PPV Debut
7905-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
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#17328017332598060-434: Is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are
8215-470: Is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In NWA/WCW, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion , a one-time United States Heavyweight Champion , a one-time Television Champion , a one-time Western States Heritage Champion , a four-time NWA (Mid Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Champion and a one-time NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin . In
8370-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
8525-506: The American Wrestling Association (AWA) where they defeated The Fabulous Ones . In the fall of 1986, Windham shifted to NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) territory as a babyface where he had many memorable matches with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair . These included matches going to 60 minute time limit draws and even some extending beyond an hour of action. He then shifted back to the tag team division, forming
8680-654: The Mobile International Speedway . Driving a 1974 Chevrolet Malibu , Howard placed fifth in the 1992 season and won the 1993 season. In 1995, Howard began driving a World Wrestling Federation -sponsored super late model in the All Pro Series in an attempt at cross promotion. After the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) withdrew its sponsorship, WWF chairman Vince McMahon gifted the equipment to Howard. Howard has
8835-742: 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 mid-1998, Holly competed in the WWF Brawl for All , a 16-man shootfighting tournament. He was eliminated in
8990-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
9145-716: The Pro Wrestling Pride Heavyweight Championship, and Joseph Conners for the IPW:UK World Heavyweight Championship ; however he would win neither championship. Holly participated in a triple threat match against Cody Hall and Luke Hawx for the British WAW promotion on June 2, 2019. Although Holly did not announce a retirement afterwards, the match became his last known one to date. In 1992, Howard began auto racing in Mobile, Alabama at
9300-538: The Royal Rumble in January 1995, Holly and the 1–2–3 Kid defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka 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
9455-601: The WWF , he was a two-time World Tag Team Champion with his brother-in-law, Mike Rotunda . Windham was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, first in 2012 as a member of The Four Horsemen and then again in 2024 as a member of The U.S. Express . Windham was trained by his father Blackjack Mulligan and world champion Harley Race . He debuted on November 27, 1979, against J.J. Dillon in San Angelo, Texas when he
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#17328017332599610-502: The WWF Hardcore Championship to permanently end the J.O.B. Squad. A week later on Raw , for his title defense match against former partner Bart Gunn, Holly formally changed his name to Hardcore Holly. Holly dropped the championship to Billy Gunn on the March 15, 1999 edition of Raw , but regained the title two weeks later at WrestleMania XV , in a triple threat hardcore match also involving Al Snow. He lost
9765-557: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
9920-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
10075-488: The "New Money Inc. " and managed by Ted DiBiase and would also join DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation and have Windham and Schyster feud with Lex Luger and Tatanka (who Schyster was feuding with), but however his knee injury forced him out of the deal with WWF and Tatanka replaced Windham in the feud with Luger. Return To The WWF (1996–1998) Windham would again return to the WWF, making his first appearance in
10230-474: The "Thurman" name and that his friends and family were teasing him over the name but wanted to keep the NASCAR gimmick and McMahon agreed. He competed in the 1994 Royal Rumble match, lasting over 21 minutes. Bob Holly alongside 1-2-3 Kid took part at WWF World Tag Team Championship Tournament (1995). After defeating Well Dunn and Heavenly Bodies , they reached to the finals which was held at Royal Rumble. At
10385-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
10540-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
10695-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
10850-412: The 2012 WWE Hall of Fame with Ric Flair, J.J. Dillon, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard as The Four Horsemen were inducted. Windham appeared at the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame alongside his former tag team partner Mike Rotunda, as The U.S. Express were inducted. He is the maternal uncle of WWE wrestlers Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas . On October 26, 2011, it was reported that he was hospitalized for either
11005-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
11160-615: The Champions I they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard . A few weeks later, on April 20, in Jacksonville, Florida , a swerve took place where Windham betrayed Luger causing the team to lose the titles back to Blanchard and Anderson. Windham turned heel and joined Ric Flair 's stable , the Four Horsemen (which also consisted of Anderson and Blanchard ) and his heel turn
11315-644: The March 30 edition of WWF Superstars (match was taped on March 11 in Pensacola, Florida ). Holly joined Jim Cornette 's new Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion and made his debut at the company's very first television taping on October 30 in Greenville, South Carolina, defeating Tim Frye. Billed as "Hollywood" Bob Holly, he received a televised push and portrayed a snobbish-street thug, West Coast character. Afterward, he worked for Buck Robley and The NWF out of Louisiana. He teamed with Robert Gibson there as
11470-530: The NWA belt to Flair at Beach Blast , while injuring his knees and then disappeared from wrestling for almost a year, where he took on Flair again at Slamboree 1994: A Legend's Reunion for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. For weeks leading up to the match, WCW led fans to believe it would be Hulk Hogan coming to challenge Flair (as indeed he would a month later) saying a 6'7", 300 lbs blond haired former World Champion
11625-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
11780-408: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
11935-602: The November 18, 1999 edition of SmackDown! , Holly challenged The Big Show for the WWF Championship , but was defeated. In early 2000, Hardcore Holly pursued the Intercontinental Championship, losing a match against Chyna due to interference from Chris Jericho . He then lost a Triple Threat Match against Chyna and Jericho for the championship at the Royal Rumble , which was won by Jericho. He lost two more subsequent matches to Jericho for
12090-461: The October 18, 1999 edition of Raw , by defeating the Rock 'n' Sock Connection , after Triple H interfered. They lost the titles two weeks later to Mankind and Al Snow on the November 4 edition of SmackDown! The Holly Cousins and Too Cool defeated Edge, Christian and The Hardy Boyz in a traditional four-on-four elimination match at Survivor Series , where Holly was the lone survivor. On
12245-465: The Rock N Roll Express. In 1993, Holly did not wrestle at all that year and took a hiatus. Holly returned to the WWF on January 11, 1994. His initial gimmick was that of a NASCAR driver turned wrestler called Thurman "Sparky" Plugg, by late summer 1994, Holly changed his name to Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly, according to Holly, he went to Vince McMahon and asked him to change his name because he didn't like
12400-699: The WOW Tag Team Championship with Ron Starr when they defeated the Rock 'n' Roll Express . From there, he wrestled in Memphis and then in the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) with moderate success. In 1990, Holly began making television appearances in World Championship Wrestling under the name "Bob Holly", being utilized primarily as a jobber. His first match came on July 30 in Gainesville, Georgia, when he
12555-637: The WWF throughout 1996 and 1997. In 1997 he scored two victories over Owen Hart on May 19 episode of Raw by pinfall and Brian Pillman on August 4 episode of Raw by countout. Afterwards, Holly was inactive during the rest of 1997 and temporarily went back to welding. In February 1998, he returned after six month hiatus with a newly blonde hair 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 Midnight Express . The Midnight Express defeated The Headbangers for
12710-658: The WWF, Windham worked in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s territory Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) as a babyface , where most notably he wrestled in the main event of Battle of the Belts II for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair , and feuded over the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship with Ron Bass . Windham and Rotundo also wrestled at WrestleRock 86 show in
12865-677: The World Tag Team Championship. This marked Holly’s final WWE pay-per-view appearance. Following this, Holly took an extended hiatus from WWE television for seven months. He was released from his contract January 16, 2009, after 15 years with the company, ending his lengthy tenure with WWE. In the months preceding his release, Holly faced personal struggles, including a suspension due to a pain pill addiction. The incident that led to this suspension involved Holly being caught stealing painkillers from another wrestler’s bag, which resulted in his immediate placement in rehab. In his 2013 autobiography The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story, Holly delves into
13020-430: The appearance he re-united with the Four Horsemen which at that point consisted of Ric Flair , Arn Anderson , Sid Vicious , and Ole Anderson . At the time, Ole Anderson was only semi-active and permanently became their manager once Windham joined. The first match back for the former United States champion came fifteen days later when he teamed with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to defeat Rick Steiner and The Road Warriors at
13175-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
13330-477: The arm may have to undergo amputation. The subsequent treatments were a success, however. 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 and Danny Doring during a match. Holly, now as
13485-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
13640-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
13795-655: The belt after years as a perennial upper-mid carder got Windham over in terms of popularity with the fans again despite still not winning the world championship. It's rumored that Flair was going to drop the title to Windham at a TV taping in Columbus, Georgia, but was fired before it could happen. In October 1991, Windham formed a tag team with Dustin Rhodes and feuded with WCW World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers ( Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko ). At Halloween Havoc 1991: Chamber of Horrors , Anderson and Zbyszko slammed
13950-501: The belt, but when Windham saw it was Flair trying to put the belt around his waist, he took the belt and walked away. Flair and Anderson tried to recruit Windham to join the Horsemen again, but Windham declined and became the "Lone Wolf," feuding with Flair and Anderson. He successfully defended the title against Anderson at Slamboree 1993: A Legend's Reunion . After a successful title defense against 2 Cold Scorpio , Windham dropped
14105-476: The brand’s 15th Anniversary show , Holly and Rhodes captured the World Tag Team Championship from Cade and Murdoch. The pair successfully defended their titles on multiple occasions, including matches against teams like Carlito and Santino Marella , and Paul London and Brian Kendrick. At the Night of Champions event on June 29, 2008, Rhodes turned on Holly, teaming with Ted DiBiase to defeat Holly and claim
14260-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
14415-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
14570-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
14725-416: The circumstances surrounding his departure from WWE, that sheds light on his frustrations with the company's creative direction. Despite remaining under contract for several months after his injury, Holly actively sought a return, frequently pitching storyline ideas to WWE's Creative team, including a program where he would seek revenge on Rhodes and DiBiase, culminating in a cage match, potentially leading to
14880-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
15035-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
15190-451: The disparity between his career and others who were given higher-profile roles, remarking that despite his dedication and loyalty, he was never viewed as someone who "deserved" a spot like his peers such as Mark Henry . He expressed frustration over WWE's decision not to utilize his abilities in a meaningful program before his departure, stating that while he never expected to be World Champion, he believed he could have contributed more than he
15345-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
15500-585: The end of the year, Windham teamed with Brian Pillman , who had also turned heel, to pursue the titles he and Rhodes lost, but ended up losing to Steamboat and Douglas at Starrcade 1992: Battlebowl/The Lethal Lottery II . Windham became a full-time singles wrestler in January 1993 and pursued the NWA World Championship held by The Great Muta . He defeated Muta for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl III . Ric Flair, who returned to WCW that night, tried to present Windham with
15655-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
15810-568: The first WWF pay-per-view opponent of Hunter Hearst Helmsley , losing to him at SummerSlam . At Survivor Series , Holly was a part of the Underdogs team along with Marty Jannetty , Hakushi , and Barry Horowitz . They were defeated by the Body Donnas team of Skip , Doctor of Desire Tom Prichard , Rad Radford , and the 1–2–3 Kid. Despite lasting nearly 40 minutes in the Royal Rumble , Holly made very few television appearances in
15965-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
16120-572: The first round by the eventual winner, Bart Gunn, who defeated him on points; Holly has the distinction of being the only one of Gunn's opponents he was unable to knock out. They disbanded in July and Holly went on his own working in lower card matches on Shotgun Saturday Night . In November 1998, Al Snow , Holly, and Scorpio united and formed The J.O.B. Squad (later members of the stable also included Gillberg and The Blue Meanie ). During that same month on an edition of Raw , they helped Mankind defeat Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man in
16275-424: The following months. Holly then missed several months of ring time due to a legitimately broken arm, suffered in a match with Kurt Angle on the June 29, 2000 edition of SmackDown! . After his return, later in 2000, another on-screen cousin, Molly Holly was introduced. Holly returned on the November 13, 2000 edition of Raw , where Holly, Crash Holly and The Undertaker defeated Edge, Christian, and Kurt Angle in
16430-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
16585-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
16740-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
16895-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
17050-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
17205-401: 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
17360-479: The lack of opportunity and acknowledgment for his years of hard work, Holly requested his release. Holly’s departure was also marked by his blunt critique of WWE’s WWE Hall of Fame , calling it "the biggest crock on the planet" and pointing to the inclusion of celebrities like Drew Carey as evidence that the Hall of Fame was more about garnering publicity than celebrating genuine contributions to wrestling. Holly noted
17515-811: The latter's World Tag Team Championship in Puerto Rico with brother Kendall. By 2000, Windham began competing on the American independent scene in the Florida-based Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling , where he won their Heavyweight Championship and held it for the better part of a year. He also became part of the Xtreme Horsemen in a stable with Steve Corino and C. W. Anderson . They feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes. Windham's last wrestling appearances were at Major League Wrestling 's War Games,
17670-545: The main roster. Holly returned at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 16 for revenge against Lesnar for his neck injury. He challenged Lesnar to a match for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2004, 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
17825-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
17980-625: The primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
18135-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
18290-644: The ranks of UWF. At JCP's first pay-per-view (PPV), Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat , he lost to UWF Heavyweight Champion "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . In 1988, Windham began rising in the JCP ranks again. He started off by dropping the Western States Heritage Title to Larry Zbyszko at Bunkhouse Stampede . In early 1988, Windham reunited with Luger and together they formed a tag team called "The Twin Towers". On March 27, 1988, at Clash of
18445-659: The rest of what was now the Dangerous Alliance . Windham would feud with TV Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin in the spring of 1992. On the May 9, 1992 edition of Saturday Night , he defeated Austin in a two out of three falls match to win the WCW World Television Championship . He dropped the title to Austin on the June 13 edition of WorldWide . On a taped edition of Saturday Night on September 2, Windham teamed with Dustin Rhodes to defeat Steve Williams and Terry Gordy for
18600-635: The spring of 1987, shortly before the annual Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Tournament (also known as the Crockett Cup). After Koloff and Murdoch were stripped of the titles, however, the Midnight Express were able to beat Windham and Garvin in the finals of the subsequent tournament to fill the title vacancy. At this time, Windham also formed an alliance with Lex Luger , who would turn his back on Windham shortly afterward when Luger had aspirations of joining The Four Horsemen . Rather than enter
18755-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
18910-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
19065-443: The title moments later under the "24/7 Hardcore rule". Holly competed in the King of the Ring tournament but lost to Kurt Angle in the first round. Then Holly continued teaming with Crash until December 2001. In early 2002, Howard worked as one of a collection of trainer/hosts for Tough Enough II , a reality competition TV series produced by WWE and MTV where participants underwent professional wrestling training and competed for
19220-496: The title to Al Snow at Backlash , and soon began referring to himself as "The Big Shot", feuding with Big Show and Kane . On the August 16, 1999 edition of Raw , Holly introduced his on-screen "cousin" Crash Holly . They unsuccessfully challenged for the WWF Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam . Although simultaneously arguing over who was the better Holly, they won the WWF Tag Team Championship on
19375-457: The title to be vacant. Windham was then elevated to the number 2 contender spot and faced Lex Luger in a steel cage match to declare the new champion. At The Great American Bash 1991 , Windham lost the match to Luger in a double turn as Luger became the top bad guy of WCW and Windham becoming one of the most popular, due to Luger's cheating tactics and his involvement with heel manager Harley Race . This, and Windham's dogged determination to win
19530-562: The title, ending their feud . After Crash Holly won the Hardcore Championship on the February 24, 2000 episode of SmackDown! , the cousins began feuding over the title. Holly won the Hardcore Championship in a "hardcore" 13-man battle royal at WrestleMania 2000 . He lost the title back to Crash the following night on Raw . He then sporadically challenged for both the Intercontinental and Hardcore championships
19685-424: The tournament as a team, Windham and Garvin were split up. Ronnie Garvin instead teamed up with his kayfabe brother Jimmy Garvin (Ronnie was Jimmy's legit stepfather). Rather than have Windham partner up with someone in the tournament, he was booked to face Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship in what would be another classic match between the two. Flair defeated Windham with a controversial pinfall after
19840-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
19995-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
20150-571: The unified WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship (their NWA title reign is not recognized by NWA); the match would air on October 3. They held the belts for about two months before losing them to Steamboat and Shane Douglas in a memorable match on November 18 at Clash of the Champions XXI . Windham turned heel on Rhodes after the match when Rhodes refused to pin Steamboat after an accidental low blow. At
20305-569: The vacant WCW World Tag Team Championship . Windham reinjured his knee during this period, but would return as part of " The West Texas Rednecks " in mid-1999. They were supposed to be a heel group to feud with rapper Master P 's " No Limit Soldiers ", but the southern fans of WCW cheered the Rednecks, going against what WCW management and booking had hoped for, and the angle was eventually dropped. The group consisted of his brother Kendall Windham , Curt Hennig , and Bobby Duncum Jr. ; Duncum
20460-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
20615-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
20770-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
20925-503: Was 19 years old. Much of his early career was in the NWA 's Championship Wrestling from Florida territory where Gordon Solie was the head announcer. He was a fan favorite for most of the early and middle periods of his career, having great success in singles and tag action. Windham had notable feuds with Kevin Sullivan and his army. With his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda , Windham formed
21080-564: Was Holly's only match for TNA. Later that year he would wrestle for Southside Wrestling Entertainment and Preston City Wrestling in the U.K. and for Melbourne City Wrestling in Australia. On May 7, 2016, Holly wrestled in the Netherlands for Pro Wrestling Showdown. Holly would also spend time in the UK, competing for PCW, Kamikaze Pro, Southside. Holly would also challenge Eddie Ryan for
21235-611: Was a tribute to the original Blackjacks (Windham's father, Mulligan, and Jack Lanza). The team had opportunities for the World Tag Titles, but no success. That team didn't last long, as Windham turned on Bradshaw to join Jim Cornette 's "NWA faction" in January 1998. He wore brown cowboy vest and boots. The angle was scrapped months later. His last WWF TV appearance was a loss to Vader on Monday Night Raw May 11 and his last WWF match losing to Bradshaw on May 16, 1998, at
21390-420: Was actually Windham who was dressed like Sting. Once the hoax was noticed, the match was restarted and the real Sting defeated Sid Vicious. Windham spent the rest of the year teaming with Arn Anderson in the continuation of a feud between the Four Horsemen and then NWA World Tag Team Champions, Doom . At Starrcade 1990: Collision Course , Windham and Anderson wrestled Doom to a no contest in a Street Fight when
21545-434: Was allowed to, particularly in mid-card storylines. In May 2009, Holly traveled 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, Salvatore Sincere , and D. J. Hyde . Holly then took
21700-475: Was born in Glendale, California , where he and his older brother were raised by his mother. After his mother remarried, the family relocated to Ventura, California and then to Grants Pass, Oregon , where Howard attended Grants Pass High School . After graduating, Howard worked in a beer warehouse before moving to Mobile, Alabama with the mother of his daughter, Stephanie. Howard spent several years working as
21855-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
22010-399: Was considered shocking at the time. In addition, he began using a black glove as well as the clawhold as his finisher, which was a signature move of his father Blackjack Mulligan . He went back to singles competition and defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Championship after then-champion Dusty Rhodes was suspended. Windham was
22165-489: Was defeated via submission by WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger . Holly then wrestled in a six-man match in Marietta, Georgia on August 6, teaming with Tim "Powerhouse" Parker and Brad Bratton against Ric Flair , Arn Anderson and Barry Windham . On August 13 Holly faced Flair in a singles match that aired on World Championship Wrestling , losing via submission. After an absence of several months, he made
22320-463: Was eliminated from a Survivor Series match at Survivor Series 1996 by Goldust. His last appearance as the "Stalker" gimmick was booked to be at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker 's pre-show Free for All against Flash Funk . However, he was replaced by The Sultan for unknown reasons. In February 1997, Windham turned heel and formed The New Blackjacks with Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw . Windham dyed his hair and moustache black. The tag team
22475-465: Was one of ECW superstars entered in the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2007, but was eliminated by The Great Khali . Holly soon became the number one contender for Lashley's ECW World Championship and faced off against Lashley, albeit unsuccessfully. On the April 3 episode of ECW , Holly lost to Snitsky . After the match, Snitsky wedged Holly's arm between the steel steps and repeatedly hit the steps with
22630-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
22785-511: Was published by ECW Press. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches
22940-446: Was released by the WWF, Gillberg was later phased out of storylines, and The Blue Meanie allied with Goldust ; thus, 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. The two fought and it led to the formal breakup of the J.O.B. Squad. Later that month at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House , Holly defeated Snow for
23095-603: Was replaced by Curly Bill after he was injured and shortly before the group was disbanded and the Rednecks storyline was dropped. On the August 23, 1999 edition of Nitro , the Windham brothers defeated Harlem Heat ( Booker T and Stevie Ray ) to win their final WCW World Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles back to Harlem Heat at Fall Brawl 1999 . Both Barry and Kendall were shortly after released by WCW. In late 1999, Windham worked for Ted DiBiase 's promotion WXO and World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he won
23250-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
23405-510: Was soon changed to Bob "Spark Plug" Holly. In 1998, under the name of Bombastic Bob, he formed a team with Bart Gunn known as The Midnight Express . Towards the end of that same year, Howard reverted to the Bob Holly name as he joined the stable titled The J.O.B. Squad . After the disintegration of The J.O.B. Squad in early 1999, Howard won his first singles title in WWE and shortly after he became known simply as Hardcore Holly, developing
23560-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
23715-428: Was the masked man that Col. Robert Parker 's Stud Stable was bringing in to challenge Flair as his "Stable Stud." It was revealed to be Barry Windham. Flair won again and Windham reinjured one of the knees that he had surgery on, then dropped out of sight for over two years. Originally the WWF wanted Windham to return and once again team with his brother in-law Mike Rotunda (who is now Irwin R. Schyster) and form
23870-434: Was to be at Mind Games , but did not happen for unknown reasons. In Your House 11: Buried Alive was originally to hype "The Stalker" gimmick however the announcers acknowledged that he was Barry Windham. The Stalker was introduced with little fanfare as a babyface . For a short time, he renewed his feud with Dustin Rhodes (known by that time as Goldust). In Windham's only pay-per-view appearance with this gimmick, he
24025-643: Was unsuccessful with both partners. He also failed to claim the WWE Championship from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) in a hardcore match on the October 14 episode of SmackDown! 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
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