While wrestling has loads of real-life families like the Rhodes, the Anoa'is, and the McMahons — more than one of whom could be classified as royal — there’s also no shortage of kayfabe relatives like the Andersons and the Dudleys. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, one of WWE’s more memorable fictional families were the Hollys, composed of kayfabe cousins Hardcore Holly, Crash Holly, and Molly Holly.
It’s been about two decades since the Holly Family was a going concern in WWE, though several members established solid singles careers, so there’s likely a lot modern fans don’t know about the group. Let’s take a look at the Hollys and what fans should know about them.
10 Hardcore Holly Was In WWE Since 1994
Eagle-eyed die-hard WWE fans seeing The Hollys in the late 1990s may have realized that Hardcore Holly looked suspiciously like a pro wrestling racecar driver from a few years prior. He became a regular part of WWE in 1994, portraying Thurman “Sparky” Plugg, a goofy ring name that evolved into Bob “Spark Plug” Holly. Before introducing his relatives, Bob Holly had his most success as a tag team specialist, capturing a couple tag titles before becoming a member of the jobber themed faction J.O.B. Squad.
9 Initially Didn’t Get Along
Summer of 1999 marked the introduction of Hardcore Holly’s kayfabe cousin Crash Holly, but they didn’t immediately take the tag team division by storm. Rather, they were immediately established as being in competition with one another over who was more tough, and did not get along as tag team partners. However, eventually they settled into teaming up rather than fighting and eventually developed a gimmick where they claimed to be superheavyweights despite their respective weights obviously being in the 200s.
8 Feuded For The Hardcore Championship
After losing the Tag Team Championship, Hardcore and Crash Holly ended up entering the Hardcore division, where they once again competed against one another. For Hardcore Holly, the division was where he redefined himself, earning his “Hardcore” moniker and holding the belt six times for a total of 58 days.
It wasn’t long before Crash Holly won the title himself, giving them even more reason to fight one another. In one instance, Crash defended the belt in a battle royal at WrestleMania 2000, which Hardcore won.
7 Crash Holly Redefined The Hardcore Championship
During their time competing in the Hardcore division, it was Crash Holly who made the Hardcore Championship into the ridiculous spectacle that fans remember it being. After winning the belt for the first time in February 2000, Crash committed to defending it anywhere at all times, introducing the now-iconic 24/7 rule. As a result, Crash Holly defended the Hardcore Championship in a number of absurd settings, including an airport, an indoor playground, and the circus, winning the belt 22 times over the course of his time in the division.
6 Introduced Molly Holly In 2000
Part of Crash Holly’s success in the hardcore division was because Hardcore Holly broke his arm in mid-2000, leaving him without a partner. However, by fall 2000, Crash entered a feud with Test, Albert, and their manager, Trish Stratus, which not only necessitated a reunion with his now-recovered cousin, but also the need for a female companion to to rival Stratus. As a result, a new cousin, Molly Holly, was introduced and the two groups clashed in several matches, the last being on a November 2000 episode of Raw.
5 Molly Holly And Hardcore Holly Both Wrestled For WCW
While they’re only kayfabe related, both Molly Holly and Hardcore Holly have at least one thing in common: forgotten runs in rival World Championship before coming to WWE. In the early 1990s, Hardcore Holly wrestled for WCW as Bob Holly, wrestling squash matches against Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and the Four Horsemen as a team. Molly Holly’s WCW run was a little more fruitful, having initially debuted as one of Randy Savage’s valets before competing in the ring herself as the beauty queen themed Mona in 2000 before the burgeoning women’s division was abruptly put to an end.
4 One-Time Tag Team Champions
Hardcore Holly and Crash Holly captured the World Tag Team Championship only a couple of months into their run together as a tag team when they defeated Mankind and The Rock on an episode of Raw. Their reign would only last 15 days, ending in a match on SmackDown against Mankind and Al Snow.
That two-week run would be The Hollys only tag team championship, with few televised challenges in the two years following. Aside from #1 Contender’s matches, Hardcore and Crash Holly’s only major title shot happened on an April 2001 episode of Raw in a losing effort against Edge and Christian.
3 Feuded With The Dudley Boyz
In 2001, The Hollys entered their best-remembered feud against The Dudley Boyz, D-Von, Bubba Ray, and Spike. As the two kayfabe families feuded, the angle took on a Romeo & Juliet vibe as romance began to blossom between Molly Holly and Spike Dudley. This only made the enmity between the two tag teams even worse, leading to several clashes across May and June of 2001, including a tables match on Raw, with the Dudleys winning three out of four televised matches.
2 The Molly Holly/Spike Dudley Romance Ended The Hollys
Eventually, love would win in the Dudley/Holly feud, with Molly Holly and Spike Dudley becoming an official couple. From there, the Holly Family would basically break-up, with Crash and Hardcore Holly pursuing singles runs, and Hardcore Holly disappearing from television after Brock Lesnar accidentally broke Holly’s neck for real. However, the romance that broke up the Hollys wouldn’t last long, as eventually Molly Holly would move on from Spike to a relationship with The Hurricane, becoming the superhero Mighty Molly in the process.
1 Hardcore Holly Was The Last Man Standing
Over the course of the 2000s, each Holly ended up leaving the company, with Crash Holly getting released in June 2003 and sadly dying a few months later. Molly Holly would prove to be a bright spot in the WWE women’s division of the early-to-mid 2000s, capturing the Women’s Championship twice before departing the promotion in 2005. Hardcore Holly would continue to wrestle on the midcard and even enjoyed a mentor/protege tag team title run with Cody Rhodes before he was released from WWE in 2009, ending a 15-year run.