10 WWE Superstars who didn't headline WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble
It has been over 30 years since the first Royal Rumble event took place. The free-for-all has been a yearly staple in WWE ever since its inception and is deemed by many as the most exciting bout in all of wrestling. Over the course of the past several years, a string of WWE Superstars have won the match to go on to compete for the top title at WrestleMania. On the other hand, there have been cases where a Superstar won the big match, but still didn't headline WrestleMania that year. Let's take a look at 10 such Superstars.
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#10 Rey Mysterio, 2006
The Royal Rumble Match in 2006 didn't even headline its own PPV, as Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry for the World title closed the show. Rey Mysterio won the match in an emotional moment, dedicating his win to the late Eddie Guerrero.
At WrestleMania 22, John Cena vs Triple H's WWE Championship match closed the show, while Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton for the World title was placed third to the last.
#9 Shinsuke Nakamura, 2018
The 'King of Strong Style' eliminated Roman Reigns at the 2018 Royal Rumble to win the whole thing. He immediately announced that he would be challenging AJ Styles for the WWE Championship At 'Mania. Styles retained his title, resulting in Nakamura turning heel.
The main event featured the Superstar who was eliminated by Nakamura to win the Rumble, Roman Reigns. 'The Big Dog' faced Brock Lesnar for the Universal title.
#8 Shawn Michaels, 1995
The mid-90s was all about Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, two of the biggest stars in WWE, at the time. Michaels won the Rumble match in 1995, last eliminating The British Bulldog. He didn't bag the last match of WrestleMania 11 though.
Michaels met Diesel for the WWE title at 'Mania, in a losing effort. This match was followed by the main event, featuring Bam Bam Bigelow and NFL star Lawrence Taylor.