With the inception of WWE's second brand split, Bryan was appointed by SmackDown General Manager on the July 18 episode of "Raw". Along with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon, Bryan played a vital role in the WWE draft. After SummerSlam on August 21, Bryan unveiled two new championships exclusive to the SmackDown brand: the SmackDown Women's Championship and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. As part of his General Manager duties, Bryan co-hosted "Talking Smack" with Renee Young, a post-show interview segment on the WWE Network. The segment frequently became the site for heated altercations between Bryan and The Miz; Bryan openly expressed his disdain while Miz complained about being mistreated. The two continued to feud for the rest of the year, with Miz often running away from Bryan when a physical altercation was teased. These altercations were intertwined with Miz feuding over the Intercontinental championship with Dolph Ziggler. Following another verbal clash on "Miz TV" at the November 1 episode of "SmackDown", Bryan decided to trade Miz to Raw if he failed to regain the championship from Ziggler. Miz defeated Ziggler on the 900th episode of "SmackDown Live" on November 15 to become a six-time Intercontinental Champion.