Nakamura wins Royal Rumble, challenges Styles for WrestleMania 34
Shinsuke Nakamura punched his ticket to WrestleMania 34 to challenge for the WWE Championship.
At the Royal Rumble on Sunday night in Philadelphia, Nakamura was the last man standing in the 30-man battle royal, last eliminating Roman Reigns and John Cena to earn himself a main-event title shot on the grandest stage of them all on April 8.
HERE IS YOUR WINNER of the 2018 Men's #RoyalRumble match...@ShinsukeN!!!!! pic.twitter.com/vy92p0vTgA
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
| Entrant | Superstar | Elimination | Eliminated by | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rusev | 12 | Matt Hardy/Bray Wyatt | 30:28 |
| 2 | Finn Balor | 26 | John Cena | 57:38 |
| 3 | Rhyno | 1 | Baron Corbin | 2:06 |
| 4 | Baron Corbin | 2 | Finn Balor | 1:06 |
| 5 | Heath Slater | 4 | Bray Wyatt | 0:33 |
| 6 | Elias | 15 | John Cena | 26:00 |
| 7 | Andrade 'Cien' Almas | 18 | Randy Orton | 29:24 |
| 8 | Bray Wyatt | 13 | Matt Hardy | 20:38 |
| 9 | Big E | 8 | Jinder Mahal | 14:14 |
| 10 | Sami Zayn (originally Tye Dillinger) | 5 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 6:57 |
| 11 | Sheamus | 3 | Heath Slater | 0:20 |
| 12 | Xavier Woods | 7 | Jinder Mahal | 8:24 |
| 13 | Apollo Crews | 6 | Cesaro | 5:16 |
| 14 | Shinsuke Nakamura | N/A | WINNER | 44:38 |
| 15 | Cesaro | 9 | Seth Rollins | 5:08 |
| 16 | Kofi Kingston | 11 | Andrade 'Cien' Almas | 5:41 |
| 17 | Jinder Mahal | 10 | Kofi Kingston | 3:48 |
| 18 | Seth Rollins | 22 | Roman Reigns | 19:01 |
| 19 | Matt Hardy | 14 | Bray Wyatt | 1:17 |
| 20 | John Cena | 28 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 29:14 |
| 21 | The Hurricane | 16 | John Cena | 0:45 |
| 22 | Aiden English | 17 | Finn Balor | 2:16 |
| 23 | Adam Cole | 19 | Rey Mysterio | 6:52 |
| 24 | Randy Orton | 25 | Roman Reigns | 13:55 |
| 25 | Titus O'Neil | 20 | Roman Reigns | 6:07 |
| 26 | The Miz | 21 | Roman Reigns | 5:20 |
| 27 | Rey Mysterio | 26 | Finn Balor | 9:39 |
| 28 | Roman Reigns | 29 | Shinsuke Nakamura | 21:52 |
| 29 | Goldust | 23 | Dolph Ziggler | 2:43 |
| 30 | Dolph Ziggler | 24 | Finn Balor | 2:01 |
Interviewed in the ring by Renee Young following his miraculous victory, Nakamura - who survived over 40 minutes - made his intentions to face A.J. Styles at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome crystal clear.
The 2018 Men's #RoyalRumble match winner has spoken...@ShinsukeN wants @WWE Champion @AJStylesOrg at @WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/ghJncoW39H
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
The Japanese sensation became the first superstar in Rumble history to win from the No. 14 spot.
This year's Rumble was chock-full of surprise entrants, including current reigning and defending NXT champion Andrade "Cien" Almas ...
#7️⃣ = @WWENXT CHAMPION @AndradeCienWWE! #ElÍdolo#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/3fcySdZ6tl
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
Undisputed Era leader Adam Cole ...
#2️⃣3️⃣ = The #UndisputedERA's @AdamColePro... BAY BAY!!!#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/b71LIkHT6w
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
... and former World Champion Rey Mysterio, who last competed in a WWE ring back in 2014.
#2️⃣7️⃣ = 2006 #RoyalRumble match winner @reymysterio!!!#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/b0NCis6REn
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
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