10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Were Bodybuilders

10. Hercules

Hercules Hernandez
WWE.com

Sound the trumpets, for the 'Mighty' Hercules is up first.

Ray Fernandez played the WWF's own Roman hero in the late-80s/early-90s, but he actually cut his teeth in bodybuilding first. Before launching his wrestling career in territories across Florida and Texas in 1981, Ray starred in several pictorials for various muscle magazines of the day.

Anyone who watched Herc go up against The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania IV might've spotted how much more cut Warrior was than him. That's likely down to Ray bulking up for wrestling and not dieting the same way he had in the bodybuilding world. Defined or not, he was still a big dude who's been largely forgotten by WWE.

Ray was also known for his 'Power & Glory' tag-team with Paul Roma before passing away in 2004. As well as posing for mag centrefolds, Herc also found the time to compete professionally in bodybuilding competitions. That all slowed down when he started wrestling.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.