On April 17, Joe was traded to the SmackDown brand in the 2018 Superstar Shake-up. Despite the trade, Joe faced Seth Rollins for Raw's Intercontinental Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in a Ladder Match also involving The Miz and Finn Balor but did not win the title. At Backlash, Joe was defeated by Roman Reigns. At SummerSlam, Joe defeated WWE Champion AJ Styles by disqualification but lost to Styles at Hell in a Cell in controversial fashion. On October 6, Joe received another match for the title at WWE Super Show-Down in a no disqualification, no count-out match, where he was defeated by Styles via submission. At Crown Jewel, Joe again lost to Styles in a title match.