5 superstars with standout performances in women's Royal Rumble 2018 match

For the first time ever, the women's division of WWE finally had a Royal Rumble of their own which also managed to main event the pay-per-view, making this an historic event just by the sheer virtue of it existing with that facet.

All of the women available would obviously want to take part in this match and be able to look back and say they were involved, but just as with the men's, only 30 could participant and some of those had to play the victim more than the star.

Regardless, plenty of women walked out of this match with their fair share of the spotlight cast upon their names, so it's time to break down five of the best examples of the female Superstars who had standout performances for the 2018 Royal Rumble event.

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#5 The Bella Twins

Nikki Bella eliminates Brie Bella from the 2018 Royal Rumble

Based off their return at the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw and their status as virtually the female faces of WWE to a certain extent, it felt like it was almost mandatory that The Bella Twins would compete in this match.

That in itself is noteworthy because of Nikki's time spent away dealing with her injuries along with Brie's recovery from pregnancy and a semi-retirement in April 2016.

Together, they were able to achieve four eliminations, with one of those being Nikki turning on her sister and taking her out of the equation for one of the highlight moments of the match.

Not only were they in the final three, but Nikki obviously managed to be the runner-up, putting her in a spot where she was just short of a victory against someone who has an undefeated streak better than Goldberg.

#4 Michelle McCool

Michelle McCool made sure to check the calendar and prove it wasn't Lana Day

For the most part, Michelle McCool doesn't get the credit she deserves for her time frame as an active member of the roster when she was still competing in WWE.

She was one of the few who tried to actually be a professional wrestler in an era where most of the women were just models and nothing much beyond that.

Thankfully, she had her time to shine in the 2018 Royal Rumble by being one of the anchors of the match, lasting only eight minutes, but managing to set the record for the most eliminations by taking out Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan, Molly Holly, Lana and Vickie Guerrero.

Natalya put an end to her run here, but if this was any proof, McCool still has it and could probably have another go at the regular competition if she ever chooses to start touring with the roster again.

#3 Sasha Banks

There are no flattering photos of Sasha Banks from this event, but that shows how much she toughed it out.

In the photo above, it seems as though the focal point would be on Michelle McCool, but it's actually Sasha Banks who tells a different story.

Entering the match at the first spot is something nobody wants to do in a gauntlet, but The Boss managed to almost go the distance when she lasted nearly 55 minutes to become the Iron Woman of this year's event.

That in itself is an impressive feat, but she also racked up four eliminations in the process, taking out Vickie Guerrero, Nia Jax, Bayley and Trish Stratus.

From the start to nearly the finish, as she was a member of the final four, the only times Sasha wasn't on the screen was when she was hunkered down in the corner under the ropes, which proved to be an effective strategy for hanging in as long as possible.

#2 Nia Jax

Nia Jax finally meets her match, and it just happens to be every other woman in the fight combined!

While she came up short in the end in every possible way, not lasting the longest, not winning and not even getting the most eliminations, Nia Jax was a force to be reckoned with during this match.

Once she made her entrance, the entire dynamic of the competition changed with her being the primary focal point and destructive force.

She dominated very quickly and amassed four eliminations before eventually being taken out of the equation herself, but only because seven women teamed up against her, reminiscent of the larger athletes in the men's Royal Rumble's past like Mark Henry, Mabel, Big Show and so on.

Had it not been for this team-up, Jax clearly would have steamrolled through any individual competitor and been the last woman standing.

#1 Asuka

You don't get to point to that sign at the end unless you're the winner, so congratulations, Asuka!

The Empress of Tomorrow has etched her name in the history books as being the winner of the first-ever women's Royal Rumble—a feat nobody else will ever be able to claim for themselves or take away from her.

This seemed to be a foregone conclusion outside of the possibility of Ronda Rousey being in the match, but since that didn't happen, it was Asuka's from the start.

The undefeated former NXT women's champion now will have her choice of the Raw or SmackDown Women's Championship to lay claim to at WrestleMania 34, where it will be tough to imagine anything short of a victory is awaiting her.

In her efforts to achieve this goal, Asuka was able to eliminate 3 of her competitors in Nia Jax, her former rival Ember Moon and of course the runner-up, Nikki Bella as well as lasting the fourth longest time of them all.

Nobody is ready for Asuka, but she has proven herself yet again to always be ready for success.