5 impressive performances from 2018 Royal Rumble

Royal Rumble 2018 is in the books now, and boy, what an event it was! After years of disappointing finishes to the Rumble matches, WWE finally did the right thing, with fan favourites Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka winning the Men's and Women's Rumble matches respectively. The response that each of their victories generated was enough to assure that WWE has finally managed to present a successful Royal Rumble event. Surprise returns from NXT superstars and WWE Legends were the other highlights of the Royal Rumble PPV along with Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles successfully defending their Universal and WWE Titles respectively.

The Rumble matches have a history of memorable performances by superstars every year, and this year was no exception, with both the men and women pulling out all the stops.

#5 Shinsuke Nakamura

'The King of Strong Style' finally made his mark in WWE

Let's start with the winner of the Men's Royal Rumble. Although Nakamura was already speculated to win the Rumble, his victory and elimination of the perennial final 4 member Roman Reigns, will go down in history as one of the best Rumble victories of all time. The crowd was firmly behind Nakamura throughout the match, and he paid the fans back with an Iron Man-like performance at the Rumble.

Entering at #14 to a thunderous ovation from the crowd, the WWE's 'Rockstar' lasted over 44 minutes. He eliminated Sami Zayn, John Cena and, finally, Roman Reigns to win the match. His one-on-one face off with Roman Reigns was one of the best final two finish since the Sheamus-Jericho showdown in 2012. Adding to his Rumble victory, Nakamura's decision to challenge AJ Styles at Wrestlemania puts rest to the speculations of their match, with WWE confirming the WWE Title match at Wrestlemania.

#4 Michelle McCool

"Mrs. Undertaker" had a more than successful return to the WWE ring.

When WWE announced the first Women's Royal Rumble match, fans started buzzing for their favourite female superstars from the past to return for the history-making match. With subsequent winner Asuka and Ronda Rousey speculated to win the match, none of the returning superstars was expected to make a huge impact on the match. Michelle McCool, on the other hand, had some other plans.

Returning to the WWE ring after almost 7 years, the former Women's and Divas champions showed no sign of ring rust. She eliminated 5 superstars on the trot, the maximum in the match, which included the likes of Liv Morgan and Sonya DeVille. Although she only lasted in the match for only nine minutes, her performance will be remembered for a long time.

#3 Andrade "Cien" Almas

The NXT Champion was a surprise entrant in the Men's Royal Rumble.

NXT Superstars are always a surprise inclusion in the Royal Rumble match. Over the past years, we have seen the likes of Rusev, Bo Dallas and Tye Dillinger make their main roster debut in the Rumble. But none of these made any significant impact on the match. This Year, however, was different, with the reigning NXT champion Andrade 'Cien' Almas making an impactful debut in the Rumble Match. Adam Cole also made his debut in the same match, but it was Almas who impressed more. Almas lasted more than twenty-eight minutes. He fought with the likes of Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and John Cena. He also managed to eliminate one superstar when he threw Kofi Kingston over the top rope.

Almas, who wrestled Johnny Gargano in a classic match on Saturday, will surely return to the development territory after Royal Rumble. But his impressive performance was enough to catch the eye of the fans and to show that he too can hang with the big guys.

#2 Sasha Banks

We saw glimpses of the villainous side of 'The Boss'.

Sasha Banks, along with fellow Horsewoman Becky Lynch, made history when they became the first two participants of the inaugural Women's Royal Rumble. 'The Irish Lass Kicker' had a decent run in the Rumble, lasting almost thirty-one minutes. But it was The Boss that acted like the glue holding the match together. The 4-time women's champion lasted over 54 minutes before she was the third last to be eliminated by the returning Bella Twins. Banks eliminated 3 superstars, which included Bayley and the returning Trish Stratus.

What's even interesting is that we finally got a glimpse of the long overdue heel turn for Banks. Her reaction after the eliminations of Bayley and Stratus and when she was dominating Asuka along with the Bellas as well as the fact that she spent most of the time outside the ring could be a sign that 'The Boss' is finally embracing her negative side.

#1 Finn Balor

The Iron Man of the Royal Rumble 2018 match

Why, Why isn't this guy holding a championship in WWE? Producing one of the best Rumble performances of all time, Finn Balor was on a different level at the Royal Rumble. Entering the Rumble match at #2 to a huge ovation from the crowd, the Irish superstar was magical inside the ring. The Iron Man of this year's Royal Rumble, something that was speculated following the recent rise of his stock on WWE programming, lasted almost an hour in the Rumble and was among the final 4 participants along with Reigns, Cena and the eventual winner Nakamura. During his 57 minutes, 30 seconds stay, he managed to eliminate four superstars from the match.

Finn Balor might have failed to go all the way in the Rumble, but his gutsy performance will be remembered by the fans for a long, long time. With Nakamura booking Styles at Wrestlemania and Lesnar-Reigns showdown all but confirmed, Balor might not compete in a World Title match at this year's 'Grand Spectacle', but given the performance he delivered last night, he surely deserves a high profile feud going into Wrestlemania season.