The 2013 edition of the Royal Rumble exemplified everything the event has become known for: plenty of surprises, loads of over-the-top (pardon the pun) action, and WWE’s official embarkation down the Road to WrestleMania. In front of a (mostly) enthusiastic Phoenix crowd, WWE delivered a Royal Rumble that, despite some predictable results, delivered its share of unexpected twists and turns. Although it wasn’t without a few hiccups, the Royal Rumble proved an excellent start to WWE’s 2013 pay-per-view line-up.  Here are some of the highlights, lowlights and assorted moments of note.

Best Match of the Night: As always, the Royal Rumble match was an entertaining and unpredictable spectacle full of “surprise” entrants, innovative spots and non-stop action.  But the main event pitting The Rock against CM Punk delivered on the hype with great physical storytelling, a not-totally-unexpected Shield attack and an intervention from Vince McMahon himself. As most people predicted, CM Punk’s title reign ended on its 434th day and The Rock walked out with the gold, but not without an entertaining, satisfying match.

Worst Match of the Night: Because there were relatively few matches on the card (and arguably no “filler”), it’s tricky to pick a low point. Every match delivered the goods in its own way, though the battle between the Big Show and Alberto Del Rio was somewhat anticlimactic. Having already seen The Big Show get buried under an announce table, seeing him get duct-taped to the bottom rope was a little underwhelming for a match that was otherwise strong.

Goofiest Rumble Moment: Daniel Bryan eliminated his Hell No partner Kane, only to be knocked out of the ring straight into Kane’s waiting arms. Clutching Kane like a koala bear in order to prevent his feet from touching the floor, Bryan begged his partner to hoist him back into the ring. A typical argument ensued — “yes!” versus “no!” — and resulted in Bryan getting dumped to the floor as punishment for his betrayal. Typically goofy stuff, but also innovative and fun.

Holy Sh** Moment of the Night:  After hoisting Alberto Del Rio onto a suspended setpiece by a handful of hair, he choke-slammed Del Rio back to the floor through a wooden table. Despite a big bump and awkward landing, Del Rio made it to his feet before the 10-count. Runner-up: the Spanish announce table prematurely collapsed during an attempted Rock Bottom, sending both CM Punk and the Rock tumbling awkwardly to the floor. It was a dangerous situation, similar to the one that left Kurt Angle badly concussed at SummerSlam 2000. Thankfully, both Punk and The Rock seemed to escape relatively unscathed (but Punk then suffered a Rock Bottom on the ringside floor that looked hugely unpleasant).

Biggest Surprise of the Night:  Most people figured The Rock would bring Punk’s 434-day title reign to an end, but not many expected the commandment from Vince McMahon to restart the match after a stealthy attack by The Shield. Not the most original ending to a match, but not totally expected either.

WTF Moment of the Night: “I show you mine, you show me yours,” said Daniel Bryan in a backstage discussion with his tag partner about his entry number into the Royal Rumble.  “Trust me,” replied Kane, “you would feel very inadequate.”  WWE writers seemingly never get tired of thinly veiled dick jokes.

Best “Close Call” Near-Elimination:  Kofi Kingston, trying to outdo his iconic handstand close-call from last year’s Rumble, leapt onto the back of an eliminated Tensai, then took temporary refuge on the Spanish announce table. Stranded, he borrowed a commentator’s chair, then pogo-hopped on it across to the ring. It won’t likely get replayed as many times as his famous handstand, but it was still a fantastic feat worthy of the huge reaction it got from the live crowd.

Best Chant of the Night: We’ve all heard the “You’ve still got it” chant before, so it wasn’t surprise when the Phoenix crowd erupted into it upon Chris Jericho’s surprise return. But although the chant itself was nothing new, Jericho’s emphatic reply was pure gold:  “I never lost it, baby!”

Best Sign of the Night: Most ringside fans had uncreative, run-of-the-mill “Boots 2 Asses” or “U Can’t C Me” signs. There was something surreal, however, about the giant cardboard cutout of The Rock’s head, which one fan held directly beside The Rock’s mother.

Best Surprise Entrant in the Rumble:  Chris Jericho was revealed to be the number-two entrant, and came to the ring to an explosive ovation, blinking jacket and all. Remarkably, though, the crowd might have popped even a little louder when Goldust arrived to pummel his mustachioed brother. The Godfather was welcomed to enormous cheers as well, but those vanished almost as quickly as he did.

Funny Tweets of the Night:

@WWE Creative_ish:”Tensai, Goldust & Jericho in the Rumble and @TheRock is challenging for the title. What year is this? #RoyalRumble”

@KayfabeNews: David Otunga is the odds-on favorite to win the Royal Rumble, according to the Baby Oil Manufacturers of America. 

@HacksawJDuggan (parody): “I got 3¢ on Tensai for the win. HooOooOoo! USA! USA! USA!”

@RealMickFoley: “I was so sure of a Mahal/Rock Mania main event.”

Botch of the Night: During the pre-show, The Miz leapt off the top rope with an attempted… um…. well he was attempting something or other. It’s tough to say exactly what The Miz was trying to do, but Antonio Cesaro mostly side-stepped it, causing Miz to land awkwardly on his right knee and ankle. If Miz didn’t damage his leg, he did an excellent job “selling” it. But it certainly didn’t look like it would require much salesmanship.

Most Predictable Moment:  No matter how many unconventional scenarios were predicted by armchair bookers leading up to the Royal Rumble, conventional wisdom said that John Cena would win the Royal Rumble match. It wasn’t the most shocking or innovative set-up for WrestleMania, but it was the one that most fans expected, even if many didn’t actually want it to happen.

What Where They? The scuttlebutt leading up to the pay-per-view was that Carlito and Shelton Benjamin were both “confirmed” as surprise entrants in the Rumble. Was this just deliberate subterfuge by WWE? Did plans change? Or were the rumors empty and groundless? Whatever the case, it would have been great to see both men back in a WWE ring. Here’s hoping that will still happen.

JBL Lines of the Night: “It’s like a hair explosion against a jacked-up Freddie Mercury. There’s an esoteric reference.” — JBL during Hell No vs. Rhodes Scholars.

“Mike Tyson was a vegan —  not when he ate Holyfield, but he was a vegan.” – JBL

Wrestler Line of the Night: The Rock delivered a different kind of pre-match promo than usual, forsaking schoolboy taunts in favor of references to his mother’s battle with cancer. It was more mature and heartfelt than his standard fare (if a bit rambling), but contained one concise zinger: “Tonight, we’re going to end 434 days of misery.”

Most Likely Opening Segment on Raw: Expect CM Punk to open the show by storming to the ring, Walrus in tow, and decrying the horrible injustice that robbed him of his championship. Either that, or we’ll see John Cena open the show to issue a challenge to the WrestleMania opponent of his choice.

Overall Lowlights: Although the majority of fans expected John Cena to win the Royal Rumble, it’s safe to say only a minority actually wanted it to happen. The Phoenix crowd was so enthusiastic during most of the event, they were fatigued and quiet for much of the main event, making the Rock-Punk match feel underwhelming at times.

Overall Highlights: An amped-up crowd in Phoenix that roared, chanted, cheered, booed and otherwise amplified the excitement; Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL were in peak form, working better together than perhaps ever before; a Rumble match that delivered all the chaos, fun and excitement that fans have come to expect from it; overall, an entertaining and eventful first leg of the Road to WrestleMania.