Why This WWE Superstar Couldn't Stand The Kliq

Though they were never an official onscreen faction, and spent much of their careers split up across different companies, the group of professional wrestlers known as The Kliq wielded a large amount of influence over the industry. Shawn Michaels, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman were friends behind the scenes, and (with the exception of Waltman) they were among the biggest names in professional wrestling during the 1990s.

Coming together during their shared time in WWE, the collective earned a reputation for being close with Vince McMahon. Not only were they themselves booked into prominent positions, but other wrestlers believed that The Kliq had the power to influence who McMahon did and didn't push. Even though Nash, Hall, and Waltman left for WCW in 1996, the reputation of The Kliq continued to follow them around.

Nash has even admitted that The Kliq held down another wrestler's career, though he maintained that the group only did it once — to Shane Douglas. Still, the perception that they had an influence on booking made them enemies over the years. That includes Bob "Hardcore" Holly, who publicly stated several times that he couldn't stand the members of The Kliq during their time working together.

From 1994 through 2009, Holly held down a consistent spot in the WWE midcard, earning a reputation as a reliable performer that didn't quite have the charisma to reach the company's upper echelon. Like many others throughout the 1990s, Holly distrusted The Kliq because of their relationship with McMahon. Speaking in a "shoot" interview years later, Holly revealed that he had never heard anything specific about the group holding his career down, but it was the mere possibility that set him off.

"That's the thing, you don't know what they did. You have no earthly idea what they did," Holly said. "Vince was so tight with those guys, so you don't know what went on behind closed doors."

Writing in his 2012 book, "The Hardcore Truth," Holly had more negative things to say about The Kliq. Though the friends acted as though they were all close, Holly doubted whether The Kliq actually cared about one another, noting one incident when Waltman failed to step in as Michaels was getting beaten up in a 1995 backstage fight with tag team wrestlers Don and Ron Harris.

In his book, Holly wrote about an incident that took place shortly after he started working for WWE, when he allegedly responded to Nash making fun of him by drawing an X on the wrestler's chin with his fingers. Nash was asked about the veracity of the story in May 2025, and he outright denied that it had taken place.

Nash pointed out that Holly would've been in one of the opening matches on the card, while he would've been champion. As evidence that the story didn't take place, Nash stated that Holly wouldn't have kept his job if the situation had happened as described. The WWE Hall of Famer said that he confronted Holly over the story several years after the book came out, but Nash didn't reveal Holly's response.

Regardless, it seems that Holly's firm stance against The Kliq has softened over time. Appearing on a since-deleted episode of Waltman's podcast in 2017 (via Fightful), Holly admitted that he would've been happy to have been part of such a tight-knit group.

"That's what you need in the wrestling business," Holly said. "You can't do it by yourself."