Bob "Hardcore" Holly: "I would fit in well with TNA"

[The IWC Butcher]

I can see the TNA promos already.. Bob would get the Chavo special... Probably get the TV title in 2 months...though if he ever did his Sparky Plugg gimmick he would be perfect for WWE right now... Just think of the NASCAR cross promotion.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Bob Holly wouldn't be a bad mix for TNA. Obviously, he wouldn't be an everyday worker that they'd want to build their company around. But he still has uses.

To people claiming all he was is a career jobber/midcarder. Guess what, if you can have a 10-15+ year run in the WWE as one, you had a hell of a career there. Most people don't have that kind of longevity in the business. That alone means he has value he brings to the company.

There is no rub that would be gained if he put somebody over in the ring, because he's not a big name. But what he can do is put on solid matches and make people who might not necessarily look good on their own, look good. Like for instance if he can work with Rob Terry on an Impact and get him to put on a few decent matches, that would do way more for Rob Terry than a big name putting him over.

There is also value in Bob Holly down at OVW as a trainer and as a veteran giving experience to green guys in the ring. The only way somebody is going to learn to be a good worker is if they work with a good worker.

 

[AnthonyM4]

TNA's ratings have been going down like crazy. Last week they got only 1,050,000. If they sign this asshole to a contract I hope the ratings continue to go down and they go out of business. That is IF they sign the guy. Also like someone mentioned, yes he has it out for Mr Anderson and wants to beat him up for something stupid. That's another reason not to sign him.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

If they signed him that would do for Anderson in TNA... Whether Vince would have him back is debateable but I could see Anderson saying "not worth staying if this is the level of talent you're bringing in".

Not sold on Holly as a trainer, as once you've broken trust with a rookie worker it's hard to get that trust from other rookies in the same way Hogan's "Hiro Matsuda broke my leg on day 1" or Dungeon stories might have deterred some legit talent back in the day from going to those schools.

Guys in OVW might be wary of Holly or seek to "push his buttons" to build their own reps... Bill DeMott learned that that being "tough" does not always translate to being right, sure the complaints against him about the "naked wrestling" and pushing talent into injuries fizzled out but the damage to his rep, whether justified or not will remain. The one way I see Holly working as a trainer is under Al Snow, the two have a good relationship and Al being the senior guy might keep Holly's mean streak in check but ultimately what would he be teaching them? He was lower mid-card for 10 of his 15 years in the WWF and only really got one proper run. He's not exactly teaching for success. To be fair that can be said of a lot of trainers but at least WWE has agents and producers who HAVE been main eventers to mentor the talent once they're out of the basic training stage... TNA doesn't have that.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

If they signed him that would do for Anderson in TNA... Whether Vince would have him back is debateable but I could see Anderson saying "not worth staying if this is the level of talent you're bringing in".

Not sold on Holly as a trainer, as once you've broken trust with a rookie worker it's hard to get that trust from other rookies in the same way Hogan's "Hiro Matsuda broke my leg on day 1" or Dungeon stories might have deterred some legit talent back in the day from going to those schools.

Guys in OVW might be wary of Holly or seek to "push his buttons" to build their own reps... Bill DeMott learned that that being "tough" does not always translate to being right, sure the complaints against him about the "naked wrestling" and pushing talent into injuries fizzled out but the damage to his rep, whether justified or not will remain. The one way I see Holly working as a trainer is under Al Snow, the two have a good relationship and Al being the senior guy might keep Holly's mean streak in check but ultimately what would he be teaching them? He was lower mid-card for 10 of his 15 years in the WWF and only really got one proper run. He's not exactly teaching for success. To be fair that can be said of a lot of trainers but at least WWE has agents and producers who HAVE been main eventers to mentor the talent once they're out of the basic training stage... TNA doesn't have that.

Actually, being on the roster for 10-15 years is one hell of a run. Any idea how many wrestlers never even make it there much less stay for that long? There is more roles in the ring than just being the main-event.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Actually, being on the roster for 10-15 years is one hell of a run. Any idea how many wrestlers never even make it there much less stay for that long? There is more roles in the ring than just being the main-event.

Granted, but being a lower (for many of those years much lower) tier guy for that period of time in the WWE wouldn't prepare someone to train superstars and main eventers. The best trainers of modern guys have always been the ones with the experience of the big matches, on PPV. Most recently Shawn Michaels, Booker T and Regal have been the most successful and they all had a lot more success than Holly in the ring.

TNA needs people who can train must see talent they can only see in TNA, not guys who will have a middling run there and go straight to NXT the first chance they get. For that you need someone with more experience of success than Holly.

 

[Rayne]

Granted, but being a lower (for many of those years much lower) tier guy for that period of time in the WWE wouldn't prepare someone to train superstars and main eventers. The best trainers of modern guys have always been the ones with the experience of the big matches, on PPV. Most recently Shawn Michaels, Booker T and Regal have been the most successful and they all had a lot more success than Holly in the ring.

TNA needs people who can train must see talent they can only see in TNA, not guys who will have a middling run there and go straight to NXT the first chance they get. For that you need someone with more experience of success than Holly.

Wait, what? We're going to mark Regal up as more of a success than Holly? (I'd say people are more fond of Regal.) And, for that matter, what does wins and losses have to do with how successful of a performer someone is? (See: Chris Jericho. Of course, some people will insist that because he hasn't gone on a HHH-style spree of title runs, people insist that he's been 'wasted'- on the contrary, think of how many guys he's been putting over while losing almost every match he's been in over the past two years.)

Success has nothing to do with how many wins you have; it's about how long you can survive in professional wrestling, and there are plenty of positions available besides 'former world champion'. If we're going to talk about 'must-see' talent, TNA's been doing a fantastic job of wasting Kurt Angle's last few years in professional wrestling. (Oh, who the hell knows with TNA these days- he could have some massive drug problem right now that's being kept under wraps.)

Bob Holly was never a top of the card guy, but was Regal ever there? The idea that only top-tier superstars can train future performers only makes sense if you think that every new performer is supposed to be the new HHH. The world of professional wrestling will still need experienced jobbers who know how to make another guy look good in the future, just as they do today.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Only if he's bringing Molly Holly with him. Otherwise - me no likey.

Look, the only time myself or anyone else regarded Holly as something more than a dude who looks like Ken Anderson's stunt double was back in the 90's when Bob was teaming up with Crash Holly and it was kind of cool.

Since then he's just been there. People either didn't care or didn't mind him, and from what I understand one of the reasons why he remained under contract with the WWE was because Vince would send young guys to wrestle him so he can rough them up and see what they're made of.

In reality, I can't even remember a promo he did, I can't remember a match I enjoyed and all I know is that he did a cool Alabama Slam and smacked Cody Rhodes once. And I've probably seen a lot of his matches, I just don't remember them because they were unimpressive.

So him in TNA? Bleh. It's another Kid Kash waiting to happen, and Kash was actually pretty damn good in my opinion.

I wouldn't be completely against him, it'll be cool to see him do something. You know, like Tatanka fighting Black Machismo. 'Member that? Good times.

 

[IT Factor]

Honestly, I never really cared for Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly or whatever version of him ever appeared on television. He was a nobody who acted as if he were a top tier guy, especially given his reputation for dealing with rookies. Bringing him into TNA makes no sense aside from minor name recognition. He might be okay if he came in and helped restart the tag team division or something. If TNA are looking for free agents, they might wanna consider bigger or better names. Batista[though he'd never go, I'm sure]. MVP[nice free agent choice]. Matt Hardy[if he's not strung out and healthy]. Anyone but Bob Holly would be a better choice.

 

[I'm A Vince Russo Guy]

I think he'd be alright as a mid-card guy, would bring a lot of experience in. Maybe a role in Aces and Eights.