The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 2013

Hey now, don't get the wrong idea just because I am The World's Greatest Holly Mark(tm), I honestly didn't really have any expectations for Bob's book but bought it on principle anyway. As it turns out, this is one of the best books on wrestling ever written, and considering the other candidates (Foley, Jericho) that's saying a lot. Holly completely opens up and tells his story; punches are not pulled, which is exactly what you'd expect from a guy like him. "The Hardcore Truth" is completely free of any agendas (apart from the ones that are HUGELY justified in the book) or over-glorification of Holly.Even if you don't agree with some of his actions behind the scenes (I'm still not sure I do), he rationalizes them in a way that would make sense to me if I were a wrestler. To be honest, us fans on the internet aren't in a place to judge anybody; lots of stuff goes on backstage and whether we ever find out about it depends on whether there's a whistleblower. Bob posits the blame of his being made a scapegoat for stuff that occurs backstage all the time, on one Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and I for one have about as much reason to doubt that claim as I do the odds of the sun rising when tomorrow comes.By all accounts, Robert Howard the person is a passionate, friendly guy who was a far better worker than his acclaim (or lack thereof) would indicate, and he knew it, as did a whole lot of his colleagues. It's heartbreaking to see how many times he came up with ideas on how to use him right that were shot down due to carelessness, apathy, or politics. In the end, when you're talking about a guy with Holly's workrate and look, the blame is entirely on Creative not deciding to go in a direction that would recompense Holly for all his years of hard work, and earn the company some money at the same time.The chapters about Owen, Eddie and Benoit are heartbreaking reads. In fact, Holly's hypothesis as to how the latter would go on to do what he did is one of the most sensible and level-headed rationales you'll come across. Amidst all this are a bunch of hilarious road stories, between-chapter segments on different aspects of the business like travel, exercise and getting over, and a truly touching happy ending. I don't think you could ask for a less bitter retrospective (as disenfranchised retirees are wont to provide), because Bob seems content with his life now, even with pain that'll probably never stop. That's the price a man pays. WWE are definitely missing out on safeguarding the future of their company by not keeping Bob Holly around to teach rookies to respect the business and all that entails. My markdom aside, this was truly a great read, and I recommend it to any and all wrestling fans. It should by all rights sway the opinion of even his biggest detractors; if not, that's their loss.

Bob Holly decided to jump on the wrestling book bus and write his story. His story is rather plain, which is fine. He came from a lower class background in nowhere town, USA. He worked low level jobs, got into bar fighting, and eventually wrestling and car racing. His chapters on car racing are rather boring to me, never cared for it, so I don't fault him for that. The parts about wrestling either have a lot of passion and color to them, or they are rather bland. It is a good story of a guy who never was used properly but was still loyal and a super hard worker. Is this the best book by a wrestler you will read, no, but it is nowhere near the worst. He gives insight to various trends going on at certain times, but he definitely comes from an outsider perspective about some issues in the sense of, he was never a top guy, so his very detailed knowledge about the top is limited. I don't like how elusive he is about his WWE pay, others like Jericho are rather blunt about it, and I respect that. Overall it is a fine quick read.

I didn't think much about picking up Bob Holly's book when I first heard about it - I grew up watching him from his debut to his Hardcore Holly run, but wasn't ever much of a fan (though I enjoyed his chemistry with Crash Holly and the Hardcore belt). However, I decided to give it a shot after a review said he would go into a lot of the backstage stuff around the WWF in the 90's, which is always fascinating to me.The book does deliver much of Bob's perspective on many important moments in WWF history, from the Clique's drama to the Montreal screwjob to the Attitude era and beyond, plus a lot of how Vince McMahon's mind works, how he created his characters, and what being inside a wrestling locker room is really like. He also gives very honest opinions about other wrestlers and sheds a light on what they're like behind-the-scenes. It's all very detailed, written in a straightforward fly-on-the-wall manner, and enthralling.That said, I did not expect to be so drawn into his life story as well, including doing toughman fights to feed his family at a young age, or that he never forgot his first high school love. I didn't even know he was an actual auto racer before he wrestled, and passionate about it too - I always assumed it was a corny gimmick he was given.Through reading his story, you really sense that he's a relatively normal, relatable, loyal, hard-working guy underneath the tough skin he always portrayed. And that he would have been just as hard a worker in any field he chose - whether he raced, welded, or wrestled. His dedication may not have earned him the title belts he deserved, but he enjoyed a long, respectable career.Unfortunately Bob never really got his due in the WWE, always relegated to the midcard and putting other guys over, but I get the sense he came out of the business a better person because of it. After reading it I definitely got a new perspective and whole new level of respect for a wrestler I honestly never thought much about before. One of the most enjoyable and eye-opening wrestling bios I've read. Highly recommended to all 90's wrestling fans and more!