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Winning the Royal Rumble match is a huge feat. Surviving 29 other superstars to punch your ticket to the WrestleMania "main event" is a huge achievement. Numerous WWE legends have never won the Rumble match in their entire career.
Then there are some certain superstars won their first ever Royal Rumble match. These superstars just entered the Royal Rumble match one day and won the whole thing.
In this article, we will be taking a look at five superstars who won their debut Royal Rumble match. So far, there have been eleven superstars who won their first Royal Rumble match.
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#5 Shinsuke Nakamura - 2018
The most recent winner of the men's Royal Rumble match was the King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura debuted on the main roster after WrestleMania 33. WWE has been planning a Wrestle Kingdom rematch between Nakamura and AJ Styles ever since Nakamura made his main roster debut.
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At Money in the Bank 2017, Nakamura and Styles had a confrontation in the ring. After Styles won the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal, Nakamura's path to his dream opponent was straight - by winning the Royal Rumble.
Nakamura entered the Rumble as the 14th entrant and eliminated three superstars - Sami Zayn, John Cena, and Roman Reigns to become the tenth debutant to win a Royal Rumble match. He lasted about three-quarters of an hour and had a huge challenge ahead of him when he came up against John Cena and Roman Reigns as his final two adversaries in the Rumble match.
He quickly eliminated John Cena and had a trade of blows with Reigns, before eliminating the Big Dog. The artist soon made his decision to challenge the WWE champion AJ Styles than the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
#4 Brock Lesnar - 2003
Brock Lesnar had all the signs of the perfect WWE superstar. He is a genetic freak. Lesnar was very agile for a man of his size. Moreover, he was outstanding in the ring. WWE pushed him early. The Beast Incarnate won his first ever King of the Ring tournament in 2002 and challenged The Rock for the Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam 2002.
Lesnar lost his title to Big Show at Survivor Series 2002 owing to a backstab by Paul Heyman. Lesnar could not win the title back from Show. Thus in the 2003 Royal Rumble, Lesnar made his Royal Rumble debut after defeating Big Show in a qualification match.
Lesnar entered at number 29 and eliminated four superstars in the 8 minutes he was in the ring. Lesnar eliminated The Undertaker at the end to challenge Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 19 and won his second WWE Championship.
#3 Asuka - 2018
To be fair, any women who won the 2018 women's Royal Rumble would have made this list except Beth Phoenix (Phoenix was also a part of the 2010 Royal Rumble). The 2018 women's Royal Rumble was the first time WWE conducted a Royal Rumble exclusive to the women as a part of the ongoing Women's Revolution. The match was well deservingly the main event of the pay-per-view.
One of the most significant focal points of this match was the undefeated streak of Asuka. Asuka was never beaten in her WWE run thus far, and she had to overcome 29 other superstars to maintain this.
Thus the WWE Universe was thrilled at the possibility of a "technical" snap of her Streak. However, in the end, The Empress of Tomorrow eliminated Nikki Bella to become the first ever Women's Royal Rumble winner.
#2 Ric Flair - 1992
In the 1980s, Ric Flair was one of the biggest names in professional wrestling scene. The former NWA Champion, however, jumped ship to WWF (old name of WWE) on September 1991. Being one of their biggest stars, WWE had big plans for the Nature Boy.
While Flair was establishing his brand on WWF, there have been controversies surrounding Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, and the WWF Championship. Thus, it was announced the winner of the 1992 edition of Royal Rumble would be crowned as the new WWF Champion.
Both Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker were a part of the Royal Rumble match, entering at number 26 and 20, respectively. However, Flair stole the show after surviving 29 superstars after entering as No. 3 in the Rumble. Flair eliminated Sid Justice at last to become the new WWF Champion.
#1 Chris Benoit
Currently, Chris Benoit is one of the most tainted names in WWE. However, his in-ring abilities and technical prowess were second to none. The 2004 Royal Rumble and his subsequent WrestleMania main event are the epitomai of his skill.
Benoit has always been struggling to break into the main event scene in WWE. The Rabid Wolverine has been putting great matches whenever he stepped into the ring. Thus, the 2004 Royal Rumble was the perfect moment for him to step up his game.
Benoit entered the Rumble as the number 1 entry - a position where only one superstar had ever won the Rumble before (Shawn Michaels in 1995). Thus, all odds were against him. However, Benoit proved everyone wrong by winning the entire rumble after last eliminating the Big Show, breaking the record for the most time spent in a single Rumble.
Benoit subsequently went on to clinch his first ever world title in WWE after making Triple H tap out at Wrestlemania 20.
