On the April 11 episode of "SmackDown", Styles defeated Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn to become the number one contender for the United States Championship. At Backlash on May 21, Styles lost his match against Kevin Owens for the United States Championship by countout. At Money in the Bank on June 18, Styles competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match, but failed to win. After Styles became once again the number one contender to Owens' championship, a title match was set for Battleground. However, two weeks before the pay-per-view, Styles defeated Owens during a WWE house show at Madison Square Garden on July 7 to capture the United States Championship for the first time in his career. However, at Battleground on July 23, Styles lost the title back to Owens, but regained it two days later on "SmackDown" in a triple threat match also involving a returning Chris Jericho, beginning his second reign with the championship. At SummerSlam on August 20, Styles defeated Owens to retain the title with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee. After once again defeating Owens two days later on "SmackDown" to end the feud. In September, Styles began a feud with Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin, leading to a triple threat match at Hell in a Cell on October 8, where Styles lost the title to Corbin who pinned Dillinger, thus ending his reign at 75 days. Two days later on "SmackDown", Styles failed to regain the title from Corbin.