The Holly Cousins, also known as the Hollys, were a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

and, later,

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

between 1999 and 2001. It consisted of on-screen cousins

Crash Holly Michael John Lockwood (August 25, 1971 – November 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment from 1999 to 2003 under the ring names ...

Hardcore Holly Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career with ...

and

Molly Holly Nora Kristina Benshoof (''née'' Greenwald; born on September 7, 1977) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler signed to WWE as a producer, she is best known for her appearances with the said company from 2000 to 2005 under the ring na ...

History

First run

Hardcore, who had debuted in the

in 1994, introduced his

on-screen An on-screen display (OSD) is an image superimposed on a screen picture, commonly used by modern television sets, video cassette recorder, VCRs, and DVD players to display information such as volume, channel, and time. History In the past, mos ...

"cousin" Crash Holly on August 16, 1999. After arguing over who was the toughest Holly cousin, the pair brawled all over the arena for the rest of the show. They teamed up for the first time at

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

, and spent the next few weeks alternating between being rivals and partners. From September on, the cousins started teaming together full-time, during which time they took to the

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

of claiming themselves to be well over , so they could be considered "superheavyweights". On October 18, 1999, on ''

Raw is War ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

'', Crash and Hardcore won the

WWF World Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

together, defeating the

Rock 'n' Sock Connection The Rock 'n' Sock Connection was a professional wrestling tag team of The Rock and Mankind/Mick Foley who wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) between 1999 and 2000 and briefly in 2004. As a team, they held the WWF Tag Team Championsh ...

, after

Mankind Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

refused to tag into the match, and

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

interfered. They held the title for two weeks before dropping it back to

and his new partner

Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Sn ...

on the November 4 episode of ''

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

''.

Hardcore title chase and break-up

In early 2000, the Holly cousins began feuding over the Hardcore title. Hardcore had first won the title in early 1999, before Crash's debut; however, Crash won it on February 22, 2000, defeating

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

. The pair soon started fighting each other for the title including in the "hardcore"

Battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

WrestleMania 2000 WrestleMania 2000 (sequentially known as WrestleMania 16) was the 16th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took p ...

, where Crash started off as the champion, but Hardcore left as champion. Crash regained the title the day after WrestleMania, and soon after this, the Holly cousins had their last match as a team for over six months. During these months Crash concentrated on the hardcore division, winning the title 22 times (after introducing the infamous "24/7 rule"), and earning the nickname "the Houdini of Hardcore". Hardcore legitimately broke his arm in a match against

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

and was sidelined for most of this time.

Reformation

In October 2000, Crash started feuding with Test and Albert. This set up the debut of another "cousin",

. She debuted on November 6, 2000, on ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', attacking

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...

, who was

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T&A. This led to the Holly Cousins reuniting to feud with T & A and their manager, Trish Stratus. Although Hardcore and Crash had opportunities to win the

Tag Team championship A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalri ...

, they were never able to capitalize. They competed mainly in both the hardcore division and the tag title division for the next few months. Molly had multiple opportunities to win the Women's title, but was booked to lose them all. In early 2001, the Hollys began feuding with the

Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...

. In May 2001, Crash and Hardcore, along with Bubba and D-Von Dudley became concerned about Molly's burgeoning relationship with

Spike Dudley Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in the 1990s with E ...

. This led to the Hollys-Dudleys feud intensifying, with both Spike and Molly caught in the middle. On May 28, 2001, the Dudley Boys famously put Molly through a table, with Spike lying on the table to try and protect her. As Molly and Spike's relationship progressed, the feud between the Hollys and the Dudleys worsened. Molly started accompanying Spike for his matches. They remained as a team until September 2001. Their last match together happened in December 2001. Crash joined the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

until 2003. Originally the Hollys were suppose to reunite on September 2, 2002 when Crash revealed that he was the one who was leaving Raw, and planning to join his cousin Hardcore on SmackDown!. This never happened because Hardcore injured his neck that Setpember. Hardcore was out of wrestling for over a year.

Aftermath

Crash competed on Raw and later traded to

until his release from

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

on June 30, 2003. He later died on November 6, 2003. Molly eventually dumped

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

, and went on to become a two-time Women's champion. On April 12, 2005, Molly left the company and retired from full-time wrestling. Hardcore was the final Holly to be released from the company, on January 16, 2009.

Championships and accomplishments

WWF Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

( 1 time)