8 Wrestlers Who WWE Gave The 'Diesel Push' At Royal Rumble
1. Roman Reigns (2014)
It’s funny to think of a time when Roman Reigns being one of
the last men in the Royal Rumble was something fans actually universally
cheered. In his four Rumble appearances, Reigns has been runner-up, won,
third-to-last and runner-up, and he’s been booed throughout his last three
appearances (excluding his eliminations).
But in 2014, Reigns nearly ran the table at the Rumble, joining the match at #15 and eliminating a record 12 men. Along the way, he tossed Kevin Nash, Cesaro, Sheamus and his fellow Shield brethren, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. With the fans turning on the idea of Batista winning the Rumble (due to Daniel Bryan not being in the match at all), the crowd openly cheered for Roman to upset the Animal.
However, that didn’t happen, and Batista eliminated Reigns. But Roman would go on from that record-setting performance to become the focal point of WWE, a position he still arguably occupies today.