WWE Battleground: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam rematch official

During last night's episode of SmackDown (live blog here, reactions here), Triple H informed Rob Van Dam he would be receiving a rematch against Alberto Del Rio, with the world heavyweight championship on the line, at the upcoming WWE Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for Sun., Oct. 6, 2013, at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.

It's official.

Here's a bit from the WWE.com preview:

At WWE Battleground, Rob Van Dam will receive another opportunity to become World Heavyweight Champion when he challenges the Superstar he nearly dethroned at Night of Champions, Alberto Del Rio.

The ultra-popular human highlight reel gave the defending World Heavyweight Champion all he could handle during that title encounter, not only refusing to quit to the Cross Armbreaker but also successfully reaching the ropes while trapped in the hold. RVD's resilience seemingly frustrated The Essence of Excellence, who then got himself disqualified by ignoring the referee's orders to break the submission.

That strategy blemished Del Rio's win-loss record, but it also ensured he would live to fight another day as World Champion. Now with another opportunity on the horizon, RVD looks to improve upon his disqualification victory and capture his first World Heavyweight Title at WWE Battleground.

Interestingly enough, Ricardo Rodriguez was nowhere to be found on either Monday Night Raw earlier this week, or SmackDown last night. That could be something to keep an eye on.

This match became more interesting the moment RVD decided to help Daniel Bryan and therefore end up on the wrong side of Triple H. That's what led to the surprise ambush on SmackDown, and there's no telling if there's more shadiness to come.

Stay tuned.

Here's the updated Battleground match card and line-up:

- John Cena vs. Randy Orton (WWE championship)
- Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam (World heavyweight championship)