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Normally the men's Royal Rumble Match is the main event of the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view, but they rightfully give up that spot for the women's historic match. Even though it wasn't in the main event slot, the men's Royal Rumble match is regarded as the best in over a decade.
There was excitement throughout the entire 65-minute match, and the action was helped by a tremendous crowd in Philadelphia. From Rusev Day to Nakamura chants, the WWE Universe in attendance was a major part of the match.
This list contains some tremendous feats that were accomplished in the match, some impressive debuts, shocking returns, and a first-time Royal Rumble winner.
The moments are not ranked by importance, but in chronological order, and we kick things off with someone who had the most impressive Royal Rumble weekend combined.
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#8 The NXT Champion with an impressive Royal Rumble debut
The first true surprise of the 2018 Royal Rumble match came when the NXT Champion Andrade "Cien" Almas entered at #7. The Philadelphia crowd gave him a great ovation because not only was he a surprise entrant but also he was part of one of the greatest matches in NXT history the night before when he took on Johnny Gargano.
Though Almas only had one elimination when he tossed out Kofi Kingston, he lasted an impressive 28:20 minutes, which was the fifth longest time spent in the 2018 Royal Rumble match. It is hard to argue that anyone had a better Royal Rumble weekend than Almas.
#7 Kofi Kingston does it again!
Walking on his hands, using a chair as a pogo stick and now a plate of pancakes. The ways that Kofi Kingston has evaded elimination from the Royal Rumble over the years is truly innovative.
This year was no exception. When it seemed like Jinder Mahal was going to eliminate all three members of the New Day, Xavier Woods was in prime position to save one foot from touching the floor. Then Big E quickly brought over the plate of pancakes they brought to the ring for Kofi to rest his foot on.
Once Kofi got his bearings, Xavier and Big E launched him high in the air, over the ropes and even over Jinder Mahal to get him back in the Royal Rumble match. Kofi would eliminate Jinder, but almost immediately after, Andrade Cien Almas tossed Kofi out.
#6 Stand back! There's a Hurricane (and maybe new Cruiserweight GM) coming through!
One of the great characters of the post-Attitude Era in the WWE was The Hurricane, Gregory Helms. One of the best feuds of the early 2000's was his with The Rock. Nobody expected it to last past one or two segments, but it turned into an amazing feud.
Hurricane was one of two shocking returns at the Royal Rumble (the other will be covered later in this article). Though the clash with Cena didn't last long, and the Hurricane was eliminated after only 24 seconds, this could signify something greater.
Last week on 205 Live, Daniel Bryan announced that there will be a General Manager for the Cruiserweight Division, and one of the major names that have been brought up over the past week was Gregory Helms. I think this appearance in the Rumble may have confirmed who will be the boss of the Cruiserweights.
#5 The Rumble's system is shocked BAY BAY!
With the rise of NXT, an entry in the Royal Rumble for an NXT Superstar meant their call-up to the main roster is imminent. This year was a little different with the NXT Champion, Andrade Cien Almas, coming out at #7 and Adam Cole at #23.
Nothing is ever certain in the WWE, but it doesn't seem likely that Almas and Cole are going to be coming up after WrestleMania. Adam Cole is the only three-time Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion, and Philadelphia is a regular stop for that company, so it made complete sense to put Cole in the Rumble.
This was all about giving Philly and the WWE Universe a great moment. However, if Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish lose their NXT Tag Team Championships in New Orleans, Monday Night Raw could get a shock to the system.
#4 Rey Mysterio returns to the WWE in tremendous shape
The biggest surprise of the 2018 Royal Rumble was Rey Mysterio's return to the WWE, but once the surprise wore off, people started noticing something about Rey. He was in the best shape of his career since his WCW Cruiserweight days.
Rey looked absolutely amazing and revitalized and the WWE Universe was absolutely excited to see the 619 come back to the WWE. Rey left the WWE in 2015 and would appear in promotions all around the world.
At the time of this writing, the expectation was for Rey's appearance to be a one-time only deal, but considering the shape he's in, one final run with the WWE is definitely in the cards.
#3 The "Old Guard" v. the "New Guard"
When the final four of the Royal Rumble match came down to Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, John Cena, and Roman Reigns, the WWE Universe had two feelings going through their mind. It was exciting to see the new talent this far in the Rumble, but there were the often pushed giants of Cena and Reigns.
Regardless of what you were feeling when it came down to these four, everyone was excited to see this standoff to close the Royal Rumble between the "New Guard" and the "Old Guard". There were some tremendous confrontations between all four of these men to close the show.
#2 The "Too Sweet" Ironman
Last week, I wrote an article predicting the entrants of the Royal Rumble and the potential ironman. Within those two articles, I predicted Finn Balor's Royal Rumble from start to finish.
It was scary how I predicted everything with Balor from entering at #2 to my guess of being the ironman, to being the fourth-to-last person eliminated from the Royal Rumble. The only thing I got wrong there was saying Miz would eliminate him, but John Cena was the person to do so.
Competing in his first Royal Rumble match, he lasted an astonishing 57:30 minutes, which was over 14 minutes longer than the man who finished in second.
#1 The WrestleMania dream match the WWE Universe wanted
It came down to Shinsuke Nakamura and Roman Reigns and many within the WWE Universe were wondering if the WWE was going to anger the Philadelphia crowd like they did in 2015 and have Roman Reigns win his second Royal Rumble Match of his career.
The battle between Nakamura and Reigns will go down as one of the classic final two match-ups to close out the contest. Reigns finally hit Nakamura with the spear and picked him up. Nakamura was lifeless until just before he made it to the ropes where he would escape.
After the escape, Nakamura nailed Reigns with the Kinshasa, picked him up and eliminated him to win the 2018 Royal Rumble.
Renee Young interviewed Nakamura after the match and asked if he's decided which champion he wants to face. To the delight of the WWE Universe, he screamed AJ STYLES! If their WrestleMania match is anything like their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match, we are in for a treat.
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