Ranking WWE Men's Royal Rumble Winners from the last 5 Years

#2 Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Royal Rumble 2018)

Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the best wrestlers in the world when he came to WWE. He had spent a fair amount of time in NXT before he made his debut on the main roster. Fans were head over heels for the King of Strong Style who had gained quite a bit of following heading into the WWE Royal Rumble.

Nakamura entered the 2018 Men's Royal Rumble match as the 14th entrant and went on to last over 44 minutes before eliminating Roman Reigns last to win the bout.

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

Nakamura didn't waste any time in announcing that he wanted to face AJ Styles which was a dream match for the WWE Universe.

The Japanese Syperstar just felt like the perfect winner because it showed thatr the WWE creative was invested in him.

What followed was a feud structured around the idea of a dream match with Styles which the two had previously accomplished in Japan. It wouldn't have been a problem but unfortunately their match at WrestleMania under-delivered. Fans had great expectations from the match but it was nowhere near the dream match status and Nakamura even turned heel after losing the match.

WHY, @ShinsukeN, WHY?! #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/D0TVqqfEzt

— WWE (@WWE) April 9, 2018

There was a series of matches that took place after that between the two but they never reached the potential they could. Nonetheless, Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the best WWE Royal Rumble winners of the 2010s. He was high on momentum and he was the first Japanese wrestler to win the Royal Rumble (Yokozuna wasn't Japanese).

It felt like a fresh breath of air after seeing already built stars winning the Royal Rumble for almost the last ten years. This revitalized the role of the WWE Royal Rumble in building new Superstars.