Hercules was humanised by a loss to Ricky Steamboat during his 1986 WrestleMania debut, but a Bobby Heenan-based cleanup had turned him back into a monster in time for his battle with babyface mirror image Billy Jack Haynes.
The brutes battered the b*llocks out of each other for the seven minutes they were afforded before Hercules took his chain to the head of Haynes when he realised exactly how powerful his opponent was.
Perception really is everything in wrestling - both men here were cut to shreds in a way even Hulk Hogan could only dream of. That they only had a smidgin of his star aura ultimately held them back from ever taking his spot.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
