10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Facts

10. Kairi Sane Was A Last-Minute Replacement

While it was great to see so many legends make shock appearances in the first ever women's Royal Rumble contest, one other brilliant surprise was seeing Kairi Sane enter the Rumble in the #6 spot.

After appearing in the inaugural Mae Young Classic earlier in the year, Sane only made her NXT debut 'proper' in October 2017. Fast-forward three months, and the Pirate Princess would be a welcome shock entrant in the women's Royal Rumble.

Once that Rumble was done and dusted, Sane would remain in NXT for a further 15 months, which raised the eyebrows of some - as many had expected her Rumble bow could lead to a swift main roster move.

In reality, the only reason why Kairi Sane appeared in the 2018 Royal Rumble is because she was a timely, convenient last-minute replacement for the injured Alicia Fox.

Previously, Foxy was intended to be one of the 30 in the women's Rumble. Unfortunately, she'd suffer a broken tailbone shortly before the Royal Rumble PPV, which caused her to be pulled from the event. In her place, it was Kairi who was given that spot.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

Posted On: 29th Jan 2021

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Shinsuke Nakamura WWE Royal Rumble 2018