While The King of Strong Style interrupted The Super Athlete’s New Year’s Day U.S. This wasn’t the first time that Nakamura used Rusev’s marriage to his advantage. The distracted champion was then blindsided by a Kinshasa that scored Nakamura the pinfall victory and his second United States Championship. Noticing what the challenger was attempting, Lana leapt to the apron and alerted the referee, prompting a face-to-face between The Ravishing Russian and The Artist.Īs Rusev charged at The King of Strong Style, Nakamura moved out of the way, putting The Super Athlete on a collision course with his wife, who was knocked to the floor at ringside. It took place on January 27, 2019, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the thirty-second event promoted under the Royal Rumble chronology.Įvent summary Rusev vs Shinsuke Nakamura Īfter weeks of cruel mind games and calculated sneak attacks, Shinsuke Nakamura pressed his psychological advantage over Rusev on the 2019 WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff, reclaiming the United States Championship following an unfortunate collision between The Super Athlete and his wife, Lana.ĭesperate after a combination of MMA-inspired holds and jaw-rattling strikes failed to fell The Lion of Bulgaria, Nakamura went into desperation mode, removing one of the turnbuckle pads with nefarious intentions.
Royal Rumble (2019) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event and streamed on WWE Network produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands.