YouShoot: With Bob Holly

Kayfabe Commentaries

www.kayfabecommentaries.com

$20.00

Reviewed by Joe Babinsack

Bob Holly.

One time known as Bob “Sparkplug” Holly, Sparky, Hardcore Holly – and around the internet as a “bully”

Bully?!?

Well, if the urban mytholization of his career is deemed reality, then Bob was the ultimate bully, having trod all over Renee Dupre, having beaten Matt Capotelli, having taken liberties with various rookie talents, having threatened the life of Matt Stryker, having gotten his “bully” attitude adjusted by Brock Lesnar in the ring.

But the internet, let alone urban myths, aren’t always what they’re cut out to be.

Sure, you may have been convinced by a post, a news item or even a newsletter item that Bob Holly truly caused a lot of problems, truly got what he deserved and otherwise deserved his reputation.

Well, I’ve just seen 115 minutes of Bob Holly in the flesh and blood, and I’m a little dubious of a lot of that reputation.

I watched Bob Holly answer some tough questions, dodge some stupid ones and otherwise pound down a lot of misconceptions I had about him. But what I also saw was a lot of common sense and a lot of pounding back against his vocal internet critics and some priceless retorts against the internet types who unfortunately dominate portions of YouShoot DVDs.

With all due respect to Greg Oliver, there’s a lot to be said about the video snippets of crazed, costumed and self-important web site types (well, if having a myspace page constitutes a true web site.)

Hey, I’m all that and more, but you’ll never get me bare-chested and playing a white version of Kamala, or donning a stupid mask (although I do have a Tiger Mask on my shelf) and portraying some fool gimmick, or boisterously challenging a guy who’s made his money and paid his dues and like Bob Holly said, if he did do all the things people say he did, why didn’t Vince McMahon fire him long ago?

But I get it. I get it.

Without the interludes and the comic relief and the crazed idiots asking sometimes crazed idiotic questions, it’s just two talking heads talking the business, and we all know how rapidly a wrestler can settle in with a version of a gimmick, and comfortable tell some tales and spin some yarns.

But I don’t think there’s any fear of Bob Holly doing that.

Holly thanks his biggest critics for obviously showing that his ability to generate heat is quite under-rated. He makes great points about that fact, and he also vehemently shoots down a lot of assumptions about him and his actions and his attitude.

Well, he doesn’t exactly disprove his attitude!

But one of the quick responses and honest reactions is when he’s asked about how he treated Matt Capotelli, the Tough Enough talent that had the misfortune of running into the buzzsaw called Bob Holly during training, and seemingly ran into the onus of a veteran watching newcomers get a major break in the industry while he and others toiled in the mid-card.

What befell Bob’s reputation was that once the story of that encounter became cemented in the urban legends of professional wrestling, Matt Capotelli was stricken with a tumor, which heightened the bully perception of Bob and also made Capotelli the ultimate victim – not just of cancer but of the unfair aggression of veteran WWE talent against the unproven Tough Enough types.

Now I’m not about to spill the words that came from the mouth of Mr. (WWE) Hardcore, but he does offer a sympathetic reflection upon his actions.

But don’t expect any mercy shown for Dupre or Stryker or even The Miz, and especially not for Ken Kennedy, whom Bob Holly obviously has an ongoing issue with.

I didn’t take Bob for the bully he’s been made out to be. I did see the streak of meanness, the sense of a guy who had established himself, and a truly unapologetic sort – although again, there were spots where he was a lot more honest an open than one would expect.

Guest questions from James Cornette and Rikishi were funny and welcome. The typical YouShoot games didn’t quite get as in-depth as I’ve seen with others. Bob Holly says he doesn’t drink or smoke dope, so out goes any effort to unseat Sabu’s rolling championship. When asked about who he was tougher than, he deferred to almost all the tough guys you can imagine, only saying that he could probably take Kurt Angle considering it would not be just wrestling.

Holly praises Angle as a wrestler, saying that the former Olympian would get the better of Brock Lesnar.

Which brings up the question of that time when Holly got powerbombed and suffered an injury. On one hand, Holly says he has no fear of Lesnar and would welcome an MMA match. On the other hand, he does say that the incident was strictly an accident, and that he could not position himself correctly to take the move.

About that MMA match…. Yeah, I understand the point. That’s a big payday. But I don’t see that selling much on PPV … forty something former wrestler against Brock Lesnar in the UFC?

But Bob’s all about the money, and that’s the consistently funny rejoinder that he brings up when the internet video types question his moves. Why was he inserted in an Elimination Chamber match? Why did he do some stupid gimmicks? Why ask a man who made some decent bucks if he’d turn down opportunities, when anyone in his position would do the same?

Holly makes excellent points about my internet peers .

I’ll never subscribe to the notion that you have to be a wrestler to opine about wrestling, but man, when my peers are all about gimmicks and reshaping history and crashing down on someone when they can only pretend to know the facts, I’m siding with Hardcore Holly against the nattering nabobs of negativity.

Mostly because Hardcore Holly is a lot more entertaining when he’s stomping down on them.

Want to listen to Bob’s racing interests? His interesting take on the “more hated than Holly” game, his admissions about pain killers, steroids and indifference about the typical sex questions (and especially the homophobic questions?)

It’s all in here.

Bob Holly says we don’t know him, and while you can’t really get to know someone from listening to them for almost two hours, it’s a lot better of a glimpse into his soul than believing everything you’ve ever read or heard on the internet.

Joe Babinsack can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . SHIMMER coming up, Glamour Glitz & Divas by Big Vision, and some commentary on Bret Hart’s Hitman book.

Remember, my book Pro Wrestling Intellectual is available on amazon.com. It’s all about getting the mainstream fans to think a lot more positively about pro wrestling.