2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match (30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)
WWE
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura!
Highlights: Jerry “The King” Lawler arrived to be the special guest commentator for this year’s Royal Rumble. Aiden English used his singing prowess to welcome Rusev as the #1 entrant. Finn Bálor then entered the match at #2. Once both men stood across from each other, Rusev jumped on top of Finn and tried to eliminate him early. Finn escaped his grasp, but Rusev shoved him off and tore into him with more punishing offense. Finn countered Rusev by catching him off guard with a nice dropkick. Rhyno made his entrance at #3 and immediately got into a big man brawl with Rusev. Rhyno handed out Belly-to-Belly Suplexes to both his foes in the ring. Rhyno soon found himself getting laid out with a Spinning Kick from Rusev. Baron Corbin then ran into the ring at #4 and quickly made his presence felt. After eating a Deep Six, Rhyno got thrown out by Corbin. But then Finn eliminated Corbin! In a fit of rage, Corbin beat down both Finn and Rusev on the outside. As Heath Slater made his way out at #5, Corbin stopped him from going to the ring by clotheslining him. After Corbin got thrown out of the arena, Elias came out to sing to the crowd at #6. During his walk to the ring, he made sure to boot Slater for good measure and continue performing for the crowd.
Andrade “Cien” Almas shocked the crowd (and interrupted Elias’ concert) by entering at #7! After landing a boot of his own on Slater, Almas pulled off all of his signature luchador offense on Elias. Elias eventually put a stop to it by clotheslining Almas. Bray Wyatt then entered the bout at #8. Bray launched Slater into the crowd barrier, then entered the ring to deliver some punishment to Elias. Finn reignited his rivalry with Bray, which led to Bray stopping him with a quick clothesline. Bray remained in control for a while until Big E ran in as entrant #9. Before he hopped into the ring, Big E tried to revive Slater by stuffing him with pancakes. Big E looked good for a while until he got dropped with a side kick from Rusev. Then the “Perfect 10” looked as it he’d be #10, but the camera went backstage and showed that he got assaulted by Owens and Sami. Sami ran out to take his place. After wiping out Slater on the outside, Sami took aim at Finn in the ring.
Sheamus then made his way down the ramp at #11. But he was quickly eliminated after he threw Slater into the ring and got taken over the top rope by the man himself! Slater’s celebrating was short lived as he ate a Sister Abigail from Bray and got thrown over the top rope. Xavier Woods then made his way into the ring at #12. Woods teamed up with Big E to take out everyone around them with their signature dual offense. #13 ended up being Apollo Crews. Crews took aim at Bray with a nice Enzuguri and then focused his attention on the rest of the pack. Shinsuke Nakamura entered the Rumble at #14 and struck down every man that made the mistake of running straight towards him. The crowd sung his theme all the while. Nakamura soon eliminated Sami. #15 turned out to be Cesaro. He used his European Elbow maneuver to clobber several men before he tried getting rid of Finn. Rusev and Cesaro clobbered each other while the crowd cheered on in unison. #16 ended up being Kofi Kingston, but his entrance into the ring was met with an European Elbow from Cesaro. Crews almost got rid of Cesaro, but Cesaro made him pay for his mistake by eliminating him instead.
#17 turned out to be Jinder Mahal. Jinder suplexed Woods and stuck a flying knee into Woods’ face, then continued beating him down all the while. Jinder eventually got rid of Woods, but then he almost got eliminated by Big E. Jinder got rid of Big E after a ring apron brawl with Woods’ partner, though. #18 ended up being Seth Rollins, who beat down several men and eliminated Cesaro. Jinder seemingly eliminated Kofi, but Woods’ saved his man by catching one of his feet before it hit the ground. Big E’s pancakes kept Kofi afloat, then him and Woods catapulted Kofi back into the ring. Kofi then got rid of Jinder, but then Andrade laid Kofi out and eliminated him soon after. “Woken” Matt Hardy entered the bout at #19 and took aim at Bray. They fought for a bit until they were forced to form an alliance and eliminate Rusev. Matt and Bray’s constant brawling led to both men eliminating each other. Then John Cena made his entrance at #20. Everyone inside the ring came to a standstill and aimed their offense at Cena as soon as he entered the ring. Elias then took aim at Cena, but it cost him as Cena threw him right over the top rope.
#21 was a surprise entrant – The Hurricane! Cena looked on in disbelief at this shocking entrant and almost got caught with a chokeslam. But Cena quickly dealt with the superhero entrant by eliminating him. #22 ended up being Aiden English. #23 marked the arrival of ADAM COLE BABAY! Even while being taped up, Adam began beating down Almas. Finn eventually eliminated English during one of his top rope vocal performances. Randy Orton then entered the bout at #24. Orton caught Almas with an RKO in midair and then eliminated him. #25 turned out to be Titus O’Neil. At #26, The Miz arrived. As soon as he got into the ring, The Miz used his signature offense to take out Cena, Rollins and Finn. #27 brought the crowd to its feet with the announcement of Rey Mysterio’s return! Rey took aim at Adam Cole, who he soon eliminated. Then he brought back the 619 and blasted The Miz with it. Roman Reigns then entered the match to a chorus of boos at #28. Reigns and Cena reignited their rivalry, then he targeted The Miz. Reigns then got rid of Titus and tried to do the same to The Miz. Miz’s allies stopped that from happening, but Reigns took them out and got a Black Out assist from Rollins. A Shield Powerbomb then lead to Miz’s elimination onto his Miztourage on the outside. But then Reigns shocked Rollins by eliminating him!
Goldust then arrived at #29. Then the final entrant turned out to be the returning Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler and Cena got into a war of attrition, then Ziggler turned his focus to Orton by Superkicking him. Ziggler used another Superkick to then eliminate Goldust. Nakamura then found himself dropped by Ziggler’s Zig Zag. Ziggler’s follow up Superkick failed and he soon met his end after getting dropped onto the ring apron and then eliminated by Finn. Afterwards, a flood of finishing moves were dished out in quick succession. After eating a Superman Punch, Orton got thrown over the top rope by Reigns. Mysterio met his end after landing a double 619 on Cena and Reigns, but then getting eliminated by Finn. The final four lineup became Nakamura, Cena, Reigns and Finn. All four men squared off, then a big brawl ensued as the crowd went wild. Cena and Reigns got stared each other down, but they got put down by Nakamura and Finn. Then those two men began their battle, which ended with Finn using a front dropkick to lay out Nakamura.
Cena and Reigns soon got back to their feet and knocked down Nakamura and Finn. Then both men blasted each other with their best strikes until Reigns dropped Cena with a Samoan Drop. Reigns went for his Superman Punch, but Cena cut him off with a Back Suplex. While Cena was looking to land his 5 Knuckle Shuffle, Finn stopped him with a Slingblade. Finn used his best moves on the other three men, but he eventually got stopped by Nakamura. Moments later, Finn met his elimination at the hands of Cena. Cena and Reigns worked over Nakamura for a few seconds until Cena took more shots at Reigns. Cena’s flurry of offense eventually got stopped by a Superman Punch, however. Reigns’ Spear failed and was met with an AA counter. Then Nakamura and Cena got into a fight that ended with Nakamura eliminating Cena with his Kinshasa! The crowd erupted in support of Nakamura as he stared down Reigns. Both men blasted each other with a number of huge strikes, but then Reigns got the better of him with a Superman Punch. Nakamura almost got eliminated, but he locked in a submission hold on Reigns while they were both adorning the top rope. Reigns lifted Nakamura up and planted him with a Powerbomb. Reigns then went for his Spear, but Nakamura put a stop to all that with a top rope Kinshasa. Nakamura looked for another one, but Reigns cut him off with a Spear. When both men got back to their feet, Nakamura came bouncing off the rope to land a final Kinshasa on Reigns. Reigns then got flung over the top rope by Nakamura! Nakamura was the last man standing! After the match, Nakamura made his decision loud and clear – he announced his plans to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34!
Come back and join us for the results & highlights from WWE Elimination Chamber on February 25, 2018!
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WWE Royal Rumble 2018: The Results & Highlights You Need to Know