WWE Royal Rumble 2013: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

The 2013 Royal Rumble was full of solid matches and a few surprises.

From Chris Jericho returning during the Royal Rumble, to the Rock winning the WWE Championship, by the time the 2013 Rumble was over, questions were answered and lessons were learned.

Would Team Hell No continue to be the WWE tag team champions? Who would walk away with the Royal Rumble win? Did the Rock hold true on his promise?

The Royal Rumble is one of the WWE's bigger pay-per-views, and it delivered.

Here are several questions answered and lessons learned from the Rumble.

Lesson Learned: The U.S. Title Isn't Big Enough for the Royal Rumble

Antonio Cesaro has come a long way since winning the United States Championship.

Yet for some reason, the WWE decided to place his title defense on a pre-show instead of placing it on the Royal Rumble card.

Cesaro wasn’t going against an up-and-coming star either. He faced off against The Miz, a well-established wrestler.

Their match was good, especially for something put on during a pre-show.

Cesaro walking away with the title is a good sign that the WWE is going to continue to push him, and hopefully, he can develop even more.

How does it reflect on the U.S. title itself? Does the WWE feel like the U.S. Championship just isn't big enough for the Royal Rumble, or did it believe that a pre-show title defense would bring in more pay-per-view buys?

Still, it's a shame the WWE decided to put a title defense on a pre-show, as their match could have easily been placed on the Rumble card.

Lesson Learned: A Babyface Can Cheat to Win

Now while the chance for Alberto Del Rio to successfully keep the Big Show down for the 10 count seemed almost impossible, did he really need to cheat to win?

Yes, the newly crowned babyface, Alberto Del Rio, needed help from his ring announcer and friend, Ricardo Rodriguez, to help keep the Big Show down.

Ricardo taped Show's feet to the ropes, thus preventing Show form getting up, and keeping him down for a 10 count.

This type of tactic seems more like something Del Rio would do when he was a heel.

Their match was decent, and a solid one to open the Royal Rumble.

Still, seeing a babyface Del Rio cheat to win doesn’t really add to his new good guy persona. 

Dolph Ziggler didn't use his contract, and the Big Show and Del Rio feud will more than likely continue.

Question Answered: Is It Time for Team Hell No to Call It Quits?

Cody Rhodes and Damian Sandow looked prime to win the Tag Team Championships heading into the Royal Rumble.

The WWE is clearly not done riding the Team Hell No wave.

The match for the Tag Team Championship belts was short, and nothing we haven't really seen before.

Kane and Bryan have come together as a team, and seem to be clicking on all cylinders.

Team Hell No will eventually drop the belts to another duo, but as of now, Bryan and Kane are still a valuable part of the tag team division.

With their volatile tempers, when Team Hell No finally loses the tag team belts, they will more than likely go their separate ways.

Heading into WrestleMania, though, Kane and Bryan look stronger than ever.

Lesson Learned: The WWE Can Still Surprise Us

One of the greatest things about the Royal Rumble match is how it always seems to have some surprises.

This year's Rumble match was no different.

From surprises like Chris Jericho, The Godfather and Goldust, to other wrestlers like Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara making their returns, the Royal Rumble had several surprises.

The biggest surprise of the night was definitely Chris Jericho's entrance into the Rumble.

Ziggler and Jericho starting off the Rumble was a great way for the 30-man match to begin, and both competitors lasted over 40 minutes.

The Royal Rumble match also turned out to be great example of how not everything on the Internet turns out to be true in the WWE.

Wrestlers like Carlito, Shelton Benjamin were believed to have been scheduled for the Rumble match but never made appearances.

While there might not have been as many surprises as some fans would like, the WWE still managed to throw a few curveballs by throwing wrestlers like Jericho and Mysterio into the Rumble match.

Question Answered: Who Will Win the Royal Rumble?

Thirty men entered the Rumble match, and only one had their hand raised in the end.

John Cena had a terrible promo on Monday Night Raw, but he promised to win the Rumble, and he delivered.

Cena seemed like a sure pick to win the Rumble, but it looked like Ryback had a decent shot at winning a ticket to WrestleMania as well.

Cena winning the Rumble, though, set up one piece of a possible rematch against The Rock at WrestleMania 29.

The WWE is getting ready to push Cena back into the championship spotlight, and it starts with his win at the Royal Rumble. He also is now one of only a handful of wrestlers to win more than one Rumble match.

2013 could be Cena's year.

Question Answered: Who Will Win the WWE Championship?

Not everyone is going to be happy with the way the WWE Championship match ended.

For a moment, it seemed like the WWE was going to swerve from the predictable route and take a path that kept CM Punk as the champion.

As the lights went out, The Shield would once again try to save Punk. He even managed to pin The Rock in the middle of the ring.

Instead of letting Punk win, or letting The Rock get the victory without The shield and Vince McMahon's involvement, the WWE decided to make their match predictable.

Of course, when Vince's music hit, Punk's chances of leaving the Royal Rumble as the champion dwindled. 

And while it's always great to see the Great One back as champion after 10 long years, did The Shield and Vince really need to get involved?

The Rock and CM Punk put on a great match, and after over 400 days as WWE champion, CM Punk's reign has come to an end.