8 Wrestlers Who WWE Gave The 'Diesel Push' At Royal Rumble

2. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin (1997)

WWE’s revisionist history would have you believe that the Austin Era began at King of the Ring 1996 when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin delivered his famous “Austin 3:16” line. From that moment forward, Austin exploded and dominated the wrestling world - or so says the company.

While Austin’ star was certainly on the rise throughout the second half of 1996, he really took off in 1997, beginning with a Royal Rumble performance that was nearly unprecedented. Entering at #5, Austin would tie the then-record and pitch 10 wrestlers from the Rumble, including Vader, Undertaker and Bret Hart.

It was the elimination of those three that really sparked controversy, as Austin had actually been eliminated from the match, but none of the refs saw it, so Stone Cold snuck back in and tossed all of them, with Hart being the last one. That led to Hart and Austin’s “I Quit” match at WrestleMania 13, which would propel Stone Cold to the stratosphere and solidfy Hart’s standing as a villain.