5 WWE Superstars who won the Royal Rumble but lost their Championship match at WrestleMania

#2 Shinsuke Nakamura - 2018

The 2018 edition of the Royal Rumble did not see the men’s Royal Rumble match headline the event. Instead, we got the winner of the men’s match quite early on in the night which was a welcome surprise for the fans.

Shinsuke Nakamura entered the match at No. 14 and was seen as a crowd favorite to win the match. He did not disappoint and lasted almost 45 minutes in the match to ensure that he wouldn’t get eliminated. The Artist eliminated just three other men in the match, but the final elimination of Roman Reigns was all that mattered at the end.

The King of Strong Style seemed to be ready for his victory speech, and he immediately named AJ Styles as the man he wanted to face at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship.

A dream match in the eyes of many WWE fans, Nakamura entered WrestleMania as a favorite to end Styles’ reign as the WWE Champion but The Phenomenal One proved to be too good for Nakamura and retained his title.

After the match, The Artist vented his frustration by low-blowing Styles and turning heel to ensure that the rivalry wasn’t over.