5 Superstars who won the Royal Rumble match in their first attempt

Royal Rumble is the first pay-per-view of the year, and sets the tone for next 12 months
Royal Rumble is the first pay-per-view of the year, and sets the tone for next 12 months

#3 Shinsuke Nakamura (2018)

Shinsuke Nakamura started the year 2018 with a bang by winning the Rumble
Shinsuke Nakamura started the year 2018 with a bang by winning the Rumble

One of the most talked about signings of 2016, apart from AJ Styles, was Shinsuke Nakamura. The King of Strong Style, unlike The Phenomenal One, didn't arrive on the main roster directly. He was sent to NXT first, where he became a 2-time NXT World Champion. He was called up to the main roster right after Wrestlemania 33.

This year, Nakamura made his Royal Rumble match debut and last eliminated Roman Reigns to win the match. It looked like WWE was quite high on him. I mean, who gets to eliminate John Cena and Roman Reigns in the same match (other than Seth Rollins)?

However, things went downhill for Nakamura after he unsuccessfully challenged AJ Styles for the WWE title at Wrestlemania 34. It looked like creative dropped the ball on Nakamura. After unsuccessfully challenging for the WWE title on several different occasions, Nakamura turned his attention to the US title. Nonetheless, Nakamura still remains as the only male Superstar to have won his debut Royal Rumble match in the last 7 years.

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