Smark Out Moment

On this third edition of SUPERSTAR SCORES, it's time to deviate from the people that are amongst my favorites and go into someone else. As suggested by AwesomePianoMan, we're going to be taking a look at someone who has gone through a few different names but career stayed relatively at the same: Robert Howard.

If you're unfamiliar with how the segment works, here is a quick breakdown: Each edition, a wrestler will be put under the spotlight and rated on a 0-100 scale based on 10 categories that have been broken up into 5 umbrella sections: In the Ring Skills, On the Mic Skills, Appearance, Backstage, and Crowd Reaction. The rating scale is as basic as you can get: 0-1-2-3-4 | 5 | 6-7-8-9-10. It follows the Three-Count Critique method of green being the good, yellow being in the middle, and red being the bad. A perfect 100 is the goal.

Start your engines...


Update: On March 20, 2020, we did a recalibration of points for a 25th episode special. In that episode, nearly every wrestler saw some adjustments. Below, you'll see the original scores on the left and then the updated score on the right, with the original description for the original score underneath. For explanation on the updated points, check out the 25th edition podcast.

IN THE RING SKILLS

Athleticism: Does the person have a good signature moveset and finisher? Can they perform a wide variety of moves on a regular basis and not botch them?

My Rating = 5 / 6
Even though the Alabama Slam looks like it could hurt, I've never been the biggest fan of it as a finisher for him instead of a big man (imagine someone like Mason Ryan doing that to you instead). As far as regular athleticism goes, Holly wasn't bad at all but wasn't anything special. He had a nice dropkick.

Psychology: The wrestler's ability to tell a story in the ring. Do they make you believe it's real or do they forget to sell their injuries properly? Can they make a long match stay interesting and not get boring?

My Rating = 5
There's going to be a really big echo in this edition where Holly was nothing special but nothing to really pick apart. Lots of fives coming your way.

ON THE MIC SKILLS

Charisma: If they get a mic, can they cut a promo without stuttering? Are they repetitive or do they keep things fresh?

My Rating = 5
I might not have given him a 10 on this, but there are 10 words that I have to point out here: "I'm gonna break your ass in half you little shithead". Bob Holly once again was nothing special but he got the job done in an average way (outside of that classic line which was fucking amazing).

Character: Is their gimmick(s) interesting? Can they pull off being both a heel and a face?

My Rating = 6
Thurman "Sparky Plugg", which thankfully transitioned into Bob "Spark Plug" Holly, which thankfully transitioned into just Bob Holly where he could actually have a tiny bit of credibility. He used to go by Superstar and Hollywood before his WWF days, but eventually we had a dip down where he turned into "Bombastic Bob", which again had an up-swing with "Hardcore Holly", his best of all gimmicks. Sadly, even though Hardcore Holly was a good standard character, it was still never anything above fantastic. I give him an extra point for being able to withstand the worse gimmicks and make a career out of himself. To be the race car driver guy in an era where people had random jobs as gimmick (which led to most of them not having a WWE job anymore), he was able to stick around and be believable as both a heel and a face.

APPEARANCE

Physique: Are they in the proper shape for their gimmick or are they out of shape? (note: someone like Mabel isn't supposed to look like John Morrison, but Matt Hardy gaining weight deducts his points).

My Rating = 8 / 7
This might seem like a big jump up considering how I'm giving him a 5 for nearly everything, but if you think about it, Holly was always in good shape for an average wrestler. He was never gaining weight randomly, nor was he too bulky in musculature to move around or too scrawny looking to be taken seriously. Even as he got older, he maintained what would be a pretty standard body shape for a normal wrestler (since his gimmick didn't call for something else). Credit where credit is due that we never had a "fat Bob Holly" phase or anything like that, he gets a few extra points to me. He's in better shape than I am and I'm half his age.

Entrance: Their music, the pyro if they have any, whatever taunts or actions they do to make it interesting.

My Rating = 5
No pyro, no special lighting, he didn't do anything for his entrance as far as showmanship, his primary theme song was an incredibly generic rock song that could have worked with nearly anybody on the roster. The main reason he gets an average 5 score is because it was bland but it wasn't BAD. There wasn't anything to detract from the score and embarrass him out of gimmick. Plus, I'll admit, there's been worse generic rock songs that they've used for other people.  

BEHAVIOR

Backstage: Are they a locker room leader or do they cause problems behind the scenes? Are they bogged down in politics? Do they put other people over or screw people over?

My Rating = 2 / 3
There are tons of people that will attest to him being a bully backstage and such, getting into fights, being too rough with the new guys, and everything of that sort.

Public Relations: Is this wrestler a public relations problem with arrests and such, or are they someone that promotes the company well, does charities, talk shows, etc?

My Rating = 4 / 5
Let's be honest, at most I could see him getting a standard 5, but his backstage problems hinder him in this regard. I don't remember seeing him being a real spokesperson for the company. The only reason he doesn't get lower is because he wasn't regularly getting arrested or something to HURT the company. He's not the most charismatic, nor was he the most well-behaved to trust in something that would represent the company.

CROWD REACTION

Popularity: How loud are the cheers and boos for them? Do they sell merchandise? Are ratings up or down when they're on screen? How many Twitter and Facebook followers do they have?

My Rating = 6
As I've said before, he stuck around for all those years, so that's the main reason why I haven't ranked him lower on this. I've never really seen anybody wearing Bob Holly merchandise or heard a big pop for the guy.

Credibility: Is this person someone you would see as a main eventer and a future legend or are they doomed to forever be a jobber?

My Rating = 5
Holly was a career midcarder that tasted the main event a few times when there was nobody else to fill a spot and they thought about giving him a shot. Some people are able to form that into a true main event status later on in their careers (Christian, Mark Henry) but he wasn't able to. Holly was a great talent to rely on for the tag team division (4x champion if you count his tenure as NWA World Tag Team Champion in WWF) and the Hardcore division (6x champion) but never even officially tasted the Intercontinental Championship when he "won" it from Jeff Jarrett. I'm sure if the brand split were to have taken place earlier in his career, he would have seen more titles (perhaps the IC or US) but I doubt he ever would have been a World Heavyweight Champion and even if he did, nobody would have really taken him that seriously.

TOTAL SCORE: 51/100 - 53/100

FINAL THOUGHTS: He may have racked up a majority of 5's, but the key thing to remember here is that the average 5 score isn't a bad thing. Bob Holly was a reliable midcarder that had some periods of time where he was a little above the average and times where he was below the average. The main reason I gave him the extra point (which by the way, was in "popularity") to push him past the 50 out of 100 score is because of his longevity in the company, but by no mistakes should he be regarded as a living legend amongst the greats. Future Hall of Fame contender? I wouldn't be opposed to that. First ballot? Certainly not.