8 Wrestlers Who WWE Gave The 'Diesel Push' At Royal Rumble
5. Rikishi (2000)
A perfect example of using the Royal Rumble “Diesel Push” came
in 2000, when the recently debuted Rikishi Phatu made an impact.
Having appeared in WWF just a couple months earlier, Rikishi was still a fresh face to fans (discounting his prior incarnations as the Sultan and Fatu) when the Rumble rolled around. The dancing Samoan entered at #5 and proceeded to eliminate all four men who preceded him, and then the next three who entered the match.
There was a fantastic moment as Scotty 2 Hotty ran out as Rikishi closed in on fellow Too Cool member Grand Master Sexay and put his sunglasses on him, leading to the three doing their signature dance. And then that quickly ended with Rikishi tossing his buddies and casually shrugging.
Rikishi would last for a while longer, before six men
managed to eliminate him. From there, he would become an extremely popular
superstar and go on to win the Intercontinental Championship that summer. He
basically rode that huge 2000 to a successful WWE career and the company’s Hall
of Fame in 2015.