On the June 16, 2014 edition of "Raw", Slater showed signs of a face turn as he stood up to Rusev and Lana by responding to their anti-American promos. However, he was quickly defeated by Rusev, who applied the "Accolade" on Slater to get the win. On the June 26, 2014 episode of "Superstars", Slater faced Adam Rose in a losing effort. On the July 11, 2014 edition of "SmackDown", Slater teamed up with Titus O'Neil to face The Usos in a match which Usos won. At Battleground, Slater competed in a battle royal for the vacant Intercontinental Championship; Slater managed to eliminate Cesaro but was then quickly eliminated by Sheamus. On the July 21, 2014 episode of "Raw", Slater confronted Flo Rida about their previous confrontation. This resulted in Flo Rida once again pushing Slater to the ground. Slater then began to regularly team up with Titus O'Neil. On the July 29, 2014 episode of "Main Event", Slater and O'Neil became known as "Slater Gator" and picked up their first win over Tyson Kidd and Zack Ryder.