WWE superstar Shinsuke Nakamura reveals he'd never watched a Royal Rumble before winning it
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WWE superstar Shinsuke Nakamura has revealed he had never watched a Royal Rumble match before winning this year's men's event.
But he says he lives for the opportunity to main event WrestleMania and him versus AJ Styles is "the match everyone wants to see".
Nakamura declared his intention to challenge the WWE Champion in New Orleans on April 8 immediately after his massive win last Sunday.
The SmackDown LIVE talent discussed the dream clash with his former New Japan Pro-Wrestling rival Styles in an interview with ESPN
(Image: © WWE)
He said: "I believe this is the biggest thing to happen in my career so far. That's until WrestleMania this year which will be the biggest thing in my life."
The 30-man battle royal came down to a final six men of Nakamura, John Cena, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns and Finn Balor.
He said: "I really felt the people behind me. You had Cena, Roman, Randy... the biggest stars in the WWE and I feel like I'm a new guy, but the WWE Universe really supported me.
"This was my first time being in a match with these kinds of rules. I've never watched a Royal Rumble match, this was my first time. I wanted to enjoy it for the first time being in it."
(Image: © WWE)
The former two-time NXT Champion also discussed making the transition from WWE's developmental division to the main roster on Tuesday nights.
He said: "When I came to NXT, I didn't need to adjust. NXT fans are hardcore wrestling fans. I just had to wrestle and they reacted. But when I got called up to SmackDown, it was different.
"There's just a difference in the live events. So last year, I had to make an adjustment from NXT to SmackDown like others have done from NXT to RAW.
"It takes time to adjust but today I finally feel like I'm there, I feel at home. It's hard to choose the words even if I was speaking Japanese. It's hard to find the words."
(Image: WWE)
The King Of Strong Style has previously starred in the main event of NXT TakeOver events, but no occasion in WWE compares to a world title bout at WrestleMania.
Nakamura said: "One of the reasons to come to the WWE was to wrestle at WrestleMania, but to main-event WrestleMania? Wow, I live for this.
"I have experience wrestling Brock [Lesnar] and AJ, but I really think the people and the audience around the world want to see AJ and me. That's the match everyone wants to see."
WrestleMania 34 featuring Shinsuke Nakamura versus AJ Styles for the WWE Championship will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 8.