10 Greatest Performances In WWE Royal Rumble History

9. Diesel (1994)

triple h rey mysterio royal rumble 2006
WWE.com

Almost every single Royal Rumble sees a huge monster character rise up, dominate the competition, and eliminate a ridiculous number of competitors from the match. Yokozuna played this role in 1993, and it was Diesel’s turn the following year. Big Daddy Cool entered the Rumble at number seven, and hell followed with him.

Diesel wasted no time in hitting the ring and making quick work of Scott Steiner, Kwang, Owen Hart, and Bart Gunn. Left all alone, Diesel turned his attention to the entrance way, and completely demolished the next three competitors. Bob Backlund lasted just 41 seconds, Billy Gunn a paltry 14, and Virgil 32. It took Randy Savage’s arrival at number 11 to eventually put the dampeners Diesel’s rampage, and a titanic effort to finally eliminate him several minutes later.

It took the combined power of Bam Bam Bigelow, Mabel, Sparky Plugg, Shawn Michaels, and Crush to finally toss Diesel over the top rope. His run lasted just 17 minutes and 41 seconds, but few wrestlers have ever eliminated so many opponents in so little time. Having not been used as anything other than a bodyguard up until that night, Diesel became a star in the 1994 Royal Rumble, and was WWE Champion by the end of the year.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.