Hercules Hernandez was basically a living representation of the excesses of the 1980s wrestling scene. He was huge, jacked up, and steroided beyond belief. Starting in the Central States territory, Hercules ended up in Jim Crockett Promotions competing as the Masked Assassin 2 alongside Jody Hamilton. Hernandez even competed at the first-ever Starrcade event, teaming with his mentor against Rufus Jones and Bugsy McGraw. Hercules then moved on to Mid South, booked by the infamous Bill Watts, and once again was given the gimmick of being the protege of another established wrestler. Hernandez became Mr. Wrestling III, the partner of Mr. Wrestling II and teammate in the feud against Magnum TA. An uneventful run in Florida led to Hercules signing with the World Wrestling Federation in 1985. Hercules was immediately booked against world champion Hulk Hogan, coming up short but receiving the most exposure of his career. He also competed at Wrestlemania III, bloodying Billy Jack Haynes with his steel chain and winning their feud a few weeks later. Hercules kicked around the midcard for a few years before finding a bizarre chemistry with Paul Roma and forming the team of Power and Glory. One of the most underrated tag teams in wrestling, Roma and Hercules had a great feud with the Rockers before being disbanded after getting squashed by the Legion of Doom. Hercules departed the WWF shortly thereafter. He signed with WCW and was pushed as Super Invader, doing nothing of note before crossing the pond and heading to Japan. Hercules retired in 1999, never really achieving the success that had been predicted for him. Only five years later, Raymond Fernandez was dead at the age of 47. His wife attributed his death to heart disease but anyone could tell you that Hercules was a regular steroid user. Steroids haven been proven to weaken hearts and cause heart failure in users. In Fernandez's case, the demand of the 1980s wrestling scene to be bigger and stronger than anyone proved to be his downfall. Hercules was one of the most muscular men in wrestling but, in the end, that's what caused his untimely death.
