Hercules (wrestler)
Professional wrestling career
Professional wrestling career
-----------------------------

### Early career (1979–1983\)

[thumb\|Fernandez (right) and his manager [Gary Royal](/wiki/Gary_Royal "Gary Royal") (left), ](/wiki/File:Gary_Royal_and_Hercules_Hernandez_1983.png "Gary Royal and Hercules Hernandez 1983.png")
Fernandez was trained to wrestle by [Hiro Matsuda](/wiki/Hiro_Matsuda "Hiro Matsuda"). He started wrestling in 1979, mainly performing in [Florida](/wiki/Florida "Florida") and [Texas](/wiki/Texas "Texas") territories as "Hercules" Hernandez. In 1982, he joined the NWA Central States territory (which ran out of [Kansas City](/wiki/Kansas_City%2C_Missouri "Kansas City, Missouri") and promoted shows in [Kansas](/wiki/Kansas "Kansas"), [Missouri](/wiki/Missouri "Missouri"), and [Iowa](/wiki/Iowa "Iowa")). While in the Central States, Hercules teamed up with [Dewey Robertson](/wiki/The_Missing_Link_%28wrestler%29 "The Missing Link (wrestler)"), and the two won the Central States tag team championship on two occasions; they beat Mike George and [Mark Romero](/wiki/Mark_Youngblood "Mark Youngblood") both times. He also held the Central States Television title for a little over six months, winning it from, and losing it back to, his main rival, Romero. His two other notable feuds in the Central States territory were with [Manny Fernandez](/wiki/Manny_Fernandez_%28wrestler%29 "Manny Fernandez (wrestler)") and [Harley Race](/wiki/Harley_Race "Harley Race"). His feud with Race garnered Hernandez significant attention in the national wrestling scene, due to Race's stature as a former [NWA World Champion](/wiki/NWA_World_Heavyweight_Championship "NWA World Heavyweight Championship").

This feud began because Race had an issue with [Oliver Humperdink](/wiki/Oliver_Humperdink "Oliver Humperdink")'s House of Humperdink stable, which Hernandez had become a part of soon after joining the promotion. One match between the two had the stipulation that if Race won, he would get five minutes inside a steel cage with Humperdink. Hercules was caught using [brass knuckles](/wiki/Brass_knuckles "Brass knuckles") and disqualified, which meant that the cage match was on. When the match was about to start, Hernandez ran to ringside, knocked Race out and threw him into the ring with Humperdink. In the end, Race recovered and delivered a piledriver to Humperdink onto a steel chair injuring ([kayfabe](/wiki/Kayfabe "Kayfabe")) Humperdink and causing him to leave the territory. After losing his manager, Hernandez did not stay in the Central States territory for long but instead signed up with [Jim Crockett Promotions](/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions "Jim Crockett Promotions") (JCP).

### All Japan Pro Wrestling (1983\)

In January 1983, Fernandez toured Japan with [All Japan Pro Wrestling](/wiki/All_Japan_Pro_Wrestling "All Japan Pro Wrestling").

### Jim Crockett Promotions (1983–1984\)

In JCP, Fernandez was paired up with [Jody Hamilton](/wiki/Jody_Hamilton "Jody Hamilton"), who had been wrestling as the Masked Assassin; Fernandez became the Masked Assassin 2, a [gimmick](/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms%23G "List of professional wrestling terms#G") that had been played by several other wrestlers over the years. The two competed at the first ever [Starrcade](/wiki/Starrcade_%281983%29 "Starrcade (1983)") beating the team of [Rufus R. Jones](/wiki/Rufus_R._Jones "Rufus R. Jones") and [Bugsy McGraw](/wiki/Bugsy_McGraw "Bugsy McGraw"). Fernandez's run as one of the Assassins ended less than a year later, after he was unmasked by [Jimmy Valiant](/wiki/Jimmy_Valiant "Jimmy Valiant").

### Mid\-South Wrestling (1984–1985\)

After being unmasked, Fernandez moved on to [Bill Watts](/wiki/Bill_Watts "Bill Watts")' [Mid\-South](/wiki/Universal_Wrestling_Federation_%28Bill_Watts%29 "Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)") promotion, where he once again donned a mask. [Mr. Wrestling II](/wiki/Mr._Wrestling_II "Mr. Wrestling II") had recently [turned](/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms%23T "List of professional wrestling terms#T") on his tag team partner [Magnum T. A.](/wiki/Magnum_T._A. "Magnum T. A.") and become a [heel](/wiki/Heel_%28professional_wrestling%29 "Heel (professional wrestling)"). Mr. Wrestling II renamed himself simply "Mr. Wrestling" and got a new protégé, "Mr. Wrestling II", who was Fernandez under a mask (referred to as "Mr. Wrestling III" in magazines to avoid confusing their readers). Mr. Wrestling II seconded Mr. Wrestling in his feud with Magnum T. A. Later on, Fernandez unmasked and competed once again as "Hercules Hernandez", and feuded with ["Hacksaw" Jim Duggan](/wiki/Jim_Duggan "Jim Duggan") under the tutelage of [Jim Cornette](/wiki/Jim_Cornette "Jim Cornette"). Hercules soon joined [Skandor Akbar](/wiki/Skandor_Akbar "Skandor Akbar")'s [stable](/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms%23S "List of professional wrestling terms#S"), Devastation Inc., alongside future WWF co\-worker [Ted DiBiase](/wiki/Ted_DiBiase "Ted DiBiase"). As part of Devastation Inc., Hercules feuded with the [Junkyard Dog](/wiki/Junkyard_Dog "Junkyard Dog") and [Terry Taylor](/wiki/Terry_Taylor "Terry Taylor"), before leaving for Florida.

### Championship Wrestling from Florida (1985\)

In "[Championship Wrestling from Florida](/wiki/Championship_Wrestling_from_Florida "Championship Wrestling from Florida")", Hercules quickly won the [NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship](/wiki/NWA_Southern_Heavyweight_Championship_%28Florida_version%29 "NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version)") from [Brian Blair](/wiki/Brian_Blair "Brian Blair"), and then won the [NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship](/wiki/NWA_Florida_Heavyweight_Championship "NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship") from [Hector Guerrero](/wiki/Hector_Guerrero "Hector Guerrero") the following month; this made him a double champion. Some time during July 1985, Fernandez was fired from CWF after a dressing room fight with [Wahoo McDaniel](/wiki/Wahoo_McDaniel "Wahoo McDaniel") and stripped of both titles. After leaving Florida, Fernandez went to [World Wrestling Council](/wiki/World_Wrestling_Council "World Wrestling Council") (WWC), in Puerto Rico before signing with the [World Wrestling Federation](/wiki/World_Wrestling_Entertainment "World Wrestling Entertainment"). Hernandez had a brief stint in Dallas with NWA World Class Championship Wrestling where was managed by Sunshine and had several high profile feuds, most notably again Gino Hernandez.

### World Wrestling Federation (1985–1992\)

#### Early appearances (1985–1986\)

Fernandez debuted in the WWF in November 1985, managed by ["Classy" Freddie Blassie](/wiki/Freddie_Blassie "Freddie Blassie"). His first major national exposure came when he competed at [WrestleMania 2](/wiki/WrestleMania_2 "WrestleMania 2") in a losing effort against [Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat](/wiki/Ricky_Steamboat "Ricky Steamboat") at the [Sports Arena](/wiki/Los_Angeles_Memorial_Sports_Arena "Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena") in the [Los Angeles](/wiki/Los_Angeles "Los Angeles") part of the show. Blassie soon retired, as, in storyline, he sold his stable to [Slick](/wiki/Slick_%28wrestling%29 "Slick (wrestling)") and Fernandez soon found himself floundering in the WWF midcard.

#### Heenan Family (1986–1988\)

[thumb\|Fernandez, ](/wiki/File:Hercules_1988.jpg "Hercules 1988.jpg")
In late 1986, however, his contract was "sold" by Slick to fellow heel manager [Bobby "The Brain" Heenan](/wiki/Bobby_Heenan "Bobby Heenan"). Soon after, he dropped "Hernandez" from his ringname (though some commentators such as [Gorilla Monsoon](/wiki/Gorilla_Monsoon "Gorilla Monsoon") still occasionally referred to him as Hernandez), as well as the Roman gladiator\-style vest and wrist bands he wore during his ring entrance. He began carrying a long steel chain to the ring and re\-emerged with a more muscular physique. On November 29, 1986 *[Saturday Night's Main Event VIII](/wiki/Saturday_Night%27s_Main_Event_VIII "Saturday Night's Main Event VIII")*, Hercules received a shot at the [WWF Heavyweight Championship](/wiki/WWF_Heavyweight_Championship "WWF Heavyweight Championship"), facing champion [Hulk Hogan](/wiki/Hulk_Hogan "Hulk Hogan"). Although he was able to put Hogan in the "Hercules backbreaker" torture rack, he lost by pinfall in what was arguably the biggest match of his wrestling career.

Also in the fall of 1986, Hercules rekindled a feud with [Billy Jack Haynes](/wiki/Billy_Jack_Haynes "Billy Jack Haynes") that went back through every promotion the two were ever in together, including the WWF earlier in 1986\. As part of the feud, Hercules started using Haynes' finishing move, the [full nelson](/wiki/Nelson_hold "Nelson hold") submission hold, as his finisher. On an episode of *[WWF Wrestling Challenge](/wiki/WWF_Wrestling_Challenge "WWF Wrestling Challenge")*, Heenan called out Haynes saying he would like to see him get out of Hercules' version of the hold. Haynes promptly answered the challenge and was waiting for Hercules to apply the hold when Heenan appeared to have second thoughts. Haynes grew tired of the charade and shoved Heenan. This gave Hercules the opening he needed to clothesline Haynes. Haynes was unable to defend himself and Hercules applied the full nelson. When Haynes began powering out of the hold, Heenan kicked him in the abdomen and Hercules released the hold. This incident set the stage for their match at [WrestleMania III](/wiki/WrestleMania_III "WrestleMania III") at the [Pontiac Silverdome](/wiki/Pontiac_Silverdome "Pontiac Silverdome") in front of a reported 93,173 fans. The momentum swung back and forth throughout the contest until Haynes attempted to apply the full nelson; both men tumbled to the floor after Hercules reached the ropes. Haynes applied the full nelson on the floor as both men were counted out. Heenan broke the hold by driving a knee into the back of Haynes, who then turned his attention to Heenan and chased him into the ring, allowing Hercules to blindside him with a shot to the head with his steel chain wrapped around his fist, causing Haynes to bleed profusely (a closeup shot of Haynes on the mat clearly showed him "blading" himself in order to draw blood). The feud culminated some weeks later in a chain match that saw Hercules as the victor.

In the early part of 1988, during an episode of *[WWF Superstars of Wrestling](/wiki/WWF_Superstars_of_Wrestling "WWF Superstars of Wrestling")*, Hercules was swinging his chain in the direction of another muscular power wrestler: [the Ultimate Warrior](/wiki/Warrior_%28wrestler%29 "Warrior (wrestler)"). Warrior caught the chain, and the two began a [tug of war](/wiki/Tug_of_war "Tug of war"), which led to the steel chain snapping at the middle. The broadcast commentators gave credit to the Warrior for snapping the chain, to the chagrin of Hercules and Heenan, though heel commentator [Jesse Ventura](/wiki/Jesse_Ventura "Jesse Ventura") contended that it took both Hercules and the Warrior to break the chain and not just the Warrior. This led to their grudge match at [WrestleMania IV](/wiki/WrestleMania_IV "WrestleMania IV"), which ended with Warrior pinning Hercules after pushing off from the turnbuckle while in Hercules' full nelson and landing on top of him before lifting his shoulder at the two count while referee [Dave Hebner](/wiki/Dave_Hebner "Dave Hebner") continued to count Hercules.

#### Rivalry with Ted DiBiase and Bobby Heenan (1988–1990\)

During the fall of 1988, Bobby Heenan sold Hercules' contract to [Ted DiBiase](/wiki/Ted_DiBiase "Ted DiBiase"); DiBiase claimed that in Hercules, he had now purchased his own [slave](/wiki/Slavery "Slavery"). The would\-be transaction failed because Hercules resisted the proceedings which angered him. He stated that he was owned by "no man" and instantly turned [face](/wiki/Face_%28professional_wrestling%29 "Face (professional wrestling)") to feud with DiBiase. Marking the end of ties for Heenan and Hercules, Bobby Heenan would from now as commentator and in promotions refer to Fernandez as *Herc the Jerk*. Hercules defeated DiBiase's bodyguard [Virgil](/wiki/Mike_Jones_%28wrestler%29 "Mike Jones (wrestler)") in a battle for his "freedom" on *[Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII](/wiki/Saturday_Night%27s_Main_Event_XVIII "Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII")* on November 16 after DiBiase contended that he should not have to dirty his hands to beat his own slave. Hercules and DiBiase were later on opposite teams at the [Survivor Series 1988](/wiki/Survivor_Series_%281988%29 "Survivor Series (1988)") where DiBiase eliminated Hercules from the contest, but Hercules then distracted DiBiase long enough to be eliminated by WWF World Champion [Randy Savage](/wiki/Randy_Savage "Randy Savage") who rolled him up for a pin while he was still gloating about eliminating Hercules.

After the feud with DiBiase ended, Hercules had a series of matches with [Haku](/wiki/Tonga_Fifita "Tonga Fifita") (who was managed by Heenan). Despite pinning Haku at [WrestleMania V](/wiki/WrestleMania_V "WrestleMania V"), he did not become the "King" of the WWF. Hercules' career stalled following his feud with Haku. He was mainly used to help push the latest heels such as [The Earthquake](/wiki/John_Tenta "John Tenta"), who [squashed](/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms%23S "List of professional wrestling terms#S") him at [WrestleMania VI](/wiki/WrestleMania_VI "WrestleMania VI"), and [Curt Hennig](/wiki/Curt_Hennig "Curt Hennig").

#### Power and Glory (1990–1991\)

In the summer of 1990, Hercules turned heel alongside [Paul Roma](/wiki/Paul_Roma "Paul Roma") and the two formed [Power and Glory](/wiki/Power_and_Glory "Power and Glory"), managed by Slick. They had a high\-profile feud with [The Rockers](/wiki/The_Rockers "The Rockers"), defeating them at [SummerSlam](/wiki/SummerSlam_%281990%29 "SummerSlam (1990)") in Philadelphia and challenged [WWF World Tag Team Champions](/wiki/World_Tag_Team_Championship_%28WWE%29 "World Tag Team Championship (WWE)") [The Hart Foundation](/wiki/The_Hart_Foundation "The Hart Foundation"). At [WrestleMania VII](/wiki/WrestleMania_VII "WrestleMania VII"), they lost to [The Legion of Doom](/wiki/The_Road_Warriors "The Road Warriors") in less than a minute.

#### Final appearances (1991–1992\)

After [SummerSlam 1991](/wiki/SummerSlam_%281991%29 "SummerSlam (1991)"), Roma left the WWF. Hercules spent the rest of his time in the WWF jobbing again, losing to wrestlers such as [the Bushwackers](/wiki/The_Bushwackers "The Bushwackers"), [Jim Neidhart](/wiki/Jim_Neidhart "Jim Neidhart"), the [Big Boss Man](/wiki/Ray_Traylor "Ray Traylor") and [Sid Justice](/wiki/Sid_Eudy "Sid Eudy"), and [Intercontinental champion](/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship "WWE Intercontinental Championship") [Bret Hart](/wiki/Bret_Hart "Bret Hart"). Hercules lasted nearly forty minutes in the [1991 Royal Rumble](/wiki/Royal_Rumble_%281991%29 "Royal Rumble (1991)"); in [1992](/wiki/Royal_Rumble_%281992%29 "Royal Rumble (1992)"), he lasted less than a minute. His last televised WWF match was against Sid Justice at [Madison Square Garden](/wiki/Madison_Square_Garden "Madison Square Garden") where he was squashed in under a minute. A clearly frustrated and fed up Hercules took a [Powerbomb](/wiki/Powerbomb "Powerbomb") from Justice followed by a three count before no\-selling the move by simply getting up unhurt and heading for the locker room.

### World Championship Wrestling (1992\)

After being with the WWF for seven years, Fernandez signed with [World Championship Wrestling](/wiki/World_Championship_Wrestling "World Championship Wrestling") (WCW). He once again adopted a masked persona, this time as Super Invader, a supposed oriental assassin under the management of former rival Harley Race. As Super Invader, he beat [Todd Champion](/wiki/Todd_Bradford "Todd Bradford") at [WrestleWar 1992](/wiki/WrestleWar_%281992%29 "WrestleWar (1992)") and beat [Marcus Bagwell](/wiki/Buff_Bagwell "Buff Bagwell") in a [dark match](/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms%23Dark_match "List of professional wrestling terms#Dark match") before the [Great American Bash 1992](/wiki/The_Great_American_Bash_%281992%29 "The Great American Bash (1992)"). The highlight of his run as Super Invader was his appearance at [Clash of the Champions XX](/wiki/Clash_of_the_Champions_XX "Clash of the Champions XX") teaming with [Rick Rude](/wiki/Rick_Rude "Rick Rude"), [Jake Roberts](/wiki/Jake_Roberts "Jake Roberts"), and [Big Van Vader](/wiki/Big_Van_Vader "Big Van Vader") in an elimination tag team match against [Sting](/wiki/Sting_%28wrestler%29 "Sting (wrestler)"), [Nikita Koloff](/wiki/Nikita_Koloff "Nikita Koloff"), and The [Steiner Brothers](/wiki/Steiner_Brothers "Steiner Brothers"). Although Sting eliminated him early, Super Invader's team won the match. By the end of 1992, Fernandez had left WCW.

### New Japan Pro\-Wrestling (1993–1994\)

In March 1993, Fernandez debuted in [New Japan Pro\-Wrestling](/wiki/New_Japan_Pro-Wrestling "New Japan Pro-Wrestling") where he appeared as "Hercules Hernandez" once more, mainly teaming with fellow powerhouse wrestler [Scott Norton](/wiki/Scott_Norton "Scott Norton") to form the [Jurassic Powers](/wiki/Jurassic_Powers "Jurassic Powers"). They won the [IWGP Tag Team Championship](/wiki/IWGP_Tag_Team_Championship "IWGP Tag Team Championship") from [the Hell Raisers](/wiki/The_Road_Warriors%23The_Hell_Raisers "The Road Warriors#The Hell Raisers") ([Hawk Warrior](/wiki/Road_Warrior_Hawk "Road Warrior Hawk") and [Power Warrior](/wiki/Kensuke_Sasaki "Kensuke Sasaki")) in August 1993 and held it for about four months before losing it back to the Hell Raisers at NJPW's [January 4 Dome Show](/wiki/January_4_Dome_Show%23Battlefield "January 4 Dome Show#Battlefield"). While holding the title, the Jurassic Powers successfully defended against teams such as The Japanese Jollyjacks ([Takayuki Iizuka](/wiki/Takayuki_Iizuka "Takayuki Iizuka") and [Akira Nogami](/wiki/Akira_Nogami "Akira Nogami")), [Masa Saito](/wiki/Masa_Saito "Masa Saito") and [Manabu Nakanishi](/wiki/Manabu_Nakanishi "Manabu Nakanishi"), and [the Barbarian](/wiki/Sione_Vailahi "Sione Vailahi") and Haku. The team also had a series of matches with the Steiner Brothers and made it to the finals of the 1993 [Super Grade Tag League](/wiki/G1_Climax_Tag_League "G1 Climax Tag League") where they lost to [Keiji Mutoh](/wiki/Keiji_Mutoh "Keiji Mutoh") and [Hiroshi Hase](/wiki/Hiroshi_Hase "Hiroshi Hase").

### Late career (1993–1999\)

In 1993, Hercules wrestled for [International World Class Championship Wrestling](/wiki/International_World_Class_Championship_Wrestling "International World Class Championship Wrestling") (IWCCW) and in 1994, he wrestled in the [American Wrestling Federation](/wiki/American_Wrestling_Federation "American Wrestling Federation") (AWF) promotion taking part in the tournament to crown the first AWF champion. In 1999, Ray Fernandez retired from wrestling after working for various independent promotions across the world.


What was Ray Fernandez's wrestling persona in WCW?