Hercules (wrestler)
Rivalry with Ted DiBiase and Bobby Heenan (1988–1990)
#### 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").


Can someone be 'owned' by an individual, or is this concept more abstract?