10 Biggest WWE Royal Rumble Innovators

5. First One-Man Wrecking Crew Performance (Diesel)

Royal Rumble 1994
WWE.com

Nobody came too close to beating Hulk Hogan's 1989 record of 10 eliminations in a single Rumble before Kane managed 11 in 2001. That'd eventually be beaten by Roman Reigns (12) in 2014. All three of those records are impressive, and yet they don't tell the full story.

It was Diesel who started the trend of dominating big men in the Rumble, and he created the template Kane later worked from.

In 1994, Kevin Nash hurled Scott Steiner, Owen Hart, Kwang, Bart Gunn, Billy Gunn, Bob Backlund and Virgil over the top rope in one seriously breathtaking short spell. This was part of Diesel's near-18 minute performance in the match, and it was one that caught the attention of Vince McMahon on commentary. After that, Diesel was someone the Vin-man could pin his hopes on.

The '94 Rumble kickstarted Diesel's rise up the card, and convinced everyone he was capable of more than standing stoically as Shawn Michaels' bodyguard.

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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.