10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Facts

A WWE Royal Rumble full of firsts, John Cena's last, and the least 'most eliminations' ever!

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

With Royal Rumble season now well and truly upon us, it's the turn of the 2018 Royal Rumble PPV to be reflected back on.

The 2018 edition of WWE's January spectacular was a notable one for several different reasons, most famously for being the first Rumble PPV to feature a women's Royal Rumble match.

Added to that, we had a fresh men's winner in the form of Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka emerged victorious in the women's Rumble, and the PPV itself marked the official debut of the WWE-contracted Ronda Rousey.

Taking place on 28 January 2018 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Wells Fargo Center in front of an in-attendance crowd of 17,629, the '18 Royal Rumble show was a refreshing one for how it served up something different to what had very much been the same old names and the same old faces in the spotlight each and every January.

While all of the above is not exactly groundbreaking news for wrestling fans, there are several other elements to the 2018 Royal Rumble that the majority of fans will not be aware of.

On that front, then, here are ten fascinating facts about the 2018 edition of WWE's Royal Rumble PPV.

10. Kairi Sane Was A Last-Minute Replacement

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

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.

Senior Writer
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, Jamie Hayer, 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.