10 Best WWE Royal Rumble Final Fours
2. 2018 (Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Finn Bálor)
Here’s the scene. Six men remain, forming opposing trios as a hot Philly crowd build to a fever pitch.
On one side stands John Cena, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, representing the heartbeat of WWE’s Ruthless Aggression Era. Facing them are three of the biggest stars to emerge from NXT in Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor and Shinsuke Nakamura. This was a surreal meeting of the generations, and acted as an onset to a fantastic finish in the 2018 Men's Royal Rumble Match.
Every elimination from this point felt monumental, which is how the latter stages of a Rumble should feel. Once only four were left standing, the pace quickened and the drama intensified. Nakamura, Reigns, Cena and Bálor constantly gained and relinquished the upper hand in a tantalizing contest which kept leading to a stalemate. Fans were forced to keep guessing who would come out on top. Bálor’s year it was not: his Ironman quest ended by Cena after 57 minutes before Cena was ousted by Nakamura to a raucous reaction.
By 2018, viewers had become accustomed with the classic Reigns troll victory, especially in the Royal Rumble. Therefore, we could not afford to completely believe Shinsuke would actually win.
After a hellacious back and forth battle, Nakamura’s surprise victory was as incredible a moment as it was cathartic to see Reigns fall short.