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Cook’s Top 5: Royal Rumble Diesel Pushes

The Royal Rumble is right around the corner, and someone’s Diesel Push might be on the way! Steve Cook looks back at the Top 5, including Diesel himself!

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Shayna Baszler WWE Royal Rumble 2020

The Royal Rumble is right around the corner, and someone’s Diesel Push might be on the way! Steve Cook looks back at the Top 5 such pushes, including the man himself, Diesel!

You guys might have heard about this. The Royal Rumble is coming up on January 31! Thirty men & thirty women will compete in battle royals to determine who will get a title shot at WrestleMania. The winners will certainly receive a boost in attention and esteem, but there are other ways to stand out in a Rumble match.

One way: Eliminate a bunch of people!

It’s known by us geeks as the Diesel push. One individual, typically a large one, runs over the competition in a short amount of time and helps get rid of some of the deadwood in the ring. An important part of any Royal Rumble.

Here are the top 5 recipients of the Diesel Push! (There are six listed)

5. Great Khali (2007)

Khali always got things done in short order. This is why it doesn’t surprise me that 7 eliminations in 3:45 is the craziest stat in Royal Rumble history. The man knew what his job was, and he didn’t waste any time. He was also self-aware enough to know that his stamina wasn’t the best, he had a good number at 28, so if he threw everybody out as quickly as possible, he had a pretty good chance.

The downfall in Khali’s strategy? Undertaker was number 30. Tough break, kid. It probably looked really good to Khali when Miz pre-teaming with John Morrison came out at 29, and hopefully 30 would be somebody in that same category, but nah, it was Undertaker.

4. CM Punk (2011)

We all know that CM Punk’s push in WWE became bigger during 2011. We don’t know if that was originally intended or not, but things seemed to be picking up for him at the Rumble. At the time, Punk had taken control of The Nexus from Wade Barrett, so he had plenty of backup to support him during matches like thus one. Which he needed, since he drew #1. Fortunately, many of his Nexus minions also drew low numbers, so he was able to last thirty-five minutes and eliminate seven people.

The difference between this & most Diesel pushes: Punk was already a bit of a star at this point. He became a bigger one later in the year. The Rumble probably didn’t have much to do with it, but it didn’t hurt either.

3. Shayna Baszler & Bianca Belair (2020)

The 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble saw a pair of dominant women. Shayna Baszler was rewarded a little earlier. She got a Raw Women’s Championship match against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania. The less said other than that sentence, the better.

Bianca Belair eliminated the same number of women that Baszler did, which was eight if you’re scoring at home, or even if you’re alone. It took some time, but as I write this here & now, Belair is finally getting to show her skills on main roster TV. Completely outclassed Bayley on an obstacle course, proving to be a superior athlete. Doesn’t always translate to pro wrestling, but I won’t deny Bianca’s athletic ability.

Two Diesel pushes in one match is a bit much, but I see what they were going for here.

2. Roman Reigns (2014)

The Shield had been picking up momentum throughout 2013, and it seemed like they were on the verge of big things. Maybe a face turn, maybe the group splitting up, probably both because that’s usually what happens when members of a group start getting over. The 2014 Royal Rumble provided a good opportunity to make the Shield members into stars on their own. Seth Rollins entered second & lasted over forty-eight minutes. Dean Ambrose had a solid showing at over thirty-three minutes.

However, it was the Big Dog that stood out from the pack. Roman Reigns entered fifteenth and was the last person eliminated by the winner, Batista. Prior to that, he set a Royal Rumble record, eliminating twelve people. Including Rollins & Ambrose! The record lasted until the Greatest Royal Rumble match, where Braun Strowman eliminated thirteen people. There were fifty people in that match though, so it wasn’t quite as dominant.

Reigns’ performance was somewhat overshadowed by the lack of Daniel Bryan and the match ending up being CM Punk’s last, but it was still an important part of his push to the main event.

1. Diesel (1994)

It’s a tough call between the original recipient of the Diesel Push and the Big Dog. Why do we go with Diesel? For me, it’s where both men started from. Reigns was already seen as a viable future star in the eyes of many fans. We tend to forget it now since the fans turned on Reigns once he got the push, but the man got over pretty well with the smart fans as a Shield member, even with the other two members having more indy cred. You could tell Roman was going places.

Diesel? Well, he was tall and had good hair. He was barely even a wrestler though! Diesel came into the WWF as Shawn Michaels’ bodyguard, and spent most of his time prior to the 1994 Rumble backing up the Boy Toy. To be honest, most of us that had seen Diesel’s run in WCW as Vinnie Vegas were happier to see him in the bodyguard role than as a wrestler. He wasn’t seen as a future main eventer or world champion or anything like that, until the Rumble match.

After the Diesel push, Kevin Nash was ready to shine.

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Opinion

Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE

Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.

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Wyatt Sicks WWE

Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.

It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions, 

The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight. 

This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail. 

The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions. 

After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama

gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania. 

It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company. 

We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!

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Opinion

Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?

Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns 

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WWE Jacob Fatu Roman Reigns Backlash

Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call. 

Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story. 

The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line. 

 In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years? 

Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus. 

I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?

Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!

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