Battleground 2013 Battleground was a professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by WWE , which took place on October 6 , 2013 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo , New York . It was the first Battleground pay - per - view and the ninth event in the 2013 WWE PPV schedule . Background . Battleground featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing feuds , plots , and storylines that played out on WWE ' s primary television programs . Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches . After defeating Randy Orton at Night of Champions for the WWE Championship , Daniel Bryan was stripped of the title after referee Scott Armstrong admitted to a fast 3 - count . However , Triple H did not give Orton the title back since he and his wife Stephanie McMahon believed that Orton ' s performance at Night of Champions was not what they wanted the face of the WWE to be , stating that they wanted the more ruthless Orton that they feuded with previously . It was then announced that Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton would face off once more for the vacant championship . At Night of Champions Rob Van Dam faced the champion Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship in which Van Dam won by disqualification . On the September 20th episode of " SmackDown " , Triple H gave Van Dam a rematch with Del Rio at Battleground for the World Heavyweight Championship . Immediately afterwards , Del Rio would proceed to viciously assault RVD backstage . The next week the match was made as a hardcore match . CM Punk began feuding with Paul Heyman in July after Heyman cost him the Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE Championship contract at Money in the Bank 2013 ( due to Punk earlier telling Heyman he didn ' t want him to be his manage ) r . This resulted in Punk fighting and losing to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam . Punk continued to feud with Heyman and his other client , Curtis Axel resulting in a handicap elimination match at Night of Champions . After Axel was eliminated , Punk handcuffed and beat down Heyman much like Heyman had done to him a couple of weeks prior on " Raw " . However , Ryback made the save , putting Punk through a table and costing him the match . On the September 23 episode of " Raw " it was announced that Punk would face Ryback at Battleground . Also on September 23 , Brie Bella pinned AJ Lee during a 10 - diva tag team match , leading to Bella receiving a match for Lee ' s Divas Championship at the PPV . On the September 30 episode of " Raw " , Cody Rhodes ( who had weeks earlier been fired from WWE in part due to perceived insubordination by Triple H ) and Goldust ( who was lobbying to get his younger brother ' s job back ) were given a non - title tag team match against WWE Tag Team Champions The Shield ( Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ) by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon . If the Rhodes brothers win , they get their jobs back . If the Shield wins , Goldust and Cody ' s father Dusty Rhodes will be fired from his position as an NXT trainer , and the Rhodes Family will be banned from WWE . The same night , R - Truth defeated Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel in a non - title match . Two nights later on " Main Event " , it was announced that R - Truth would get a title match against Axel at Battleground . On the September 30 " Raw " and the October 4 " SmackDown " , Bray Wyatt delivered cryptic messages to Kofi Kingston after Kingston ' s matches , leading to a match between them at the PPV . Another match scheduled features Santino Marella teaming with The Great Khali to take on The Real Americans ( Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro ) in a tag team match . Aftermath . The next night on " Raw " , Brad Maddox announced that Randy Orton will face Daniel Bryan once again at Hell in a Cell in a Hell in a Cell match with a special guest referee . The WWE Universe was allowed to choose amongst Booker T , Bob Backlund and Shawn Michaels . Michaels won the vote . With Rob Van Dam out of the title picture , Alberto Del Rio tried to coerce Vickie Guerrero to make him the " face of the WWE " due to the fact he ' s the only active major champion . Later that night . Del Rio went to compete in a match against Ricardo Rodriguez . Vickie would then announce that Del Rio must defend the World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena - who had been out of action since SummerSlam - due to an elbow injury . CM Punk would continue his feud with Paul Heyman and Ryback once again after he defeated the latter due to a low blow , which the referee never saw , because Heyman diverted the latter ' s attention by taking out a kendo stick from under the ring and attempt to strike Punk . On October 9 , WWE . com announced that CM Punk will face Ryback again in a rematch at Hell in a Cell .