On the August 22 episode of "SmackDown Live", General Manager Daniel Bryan announced that he had signed a returning Shelton Benjamin to team up with Gable, therefore creating a tag-team between the two. The following week on "SmackDown Live", Gable and Benjamin picked up a win over The Ascension in their first match as a tag team; this was also Benjamin's first WWE match since 2010. On the September 12 episode of "SmackDown Live", Benjamin and Gable would defeat The Hype Bros, before defeating them again in a rematch at Hell in a Cell. On the October 10 episode of "SmackDown Live", Benjamin and Gable would defeat The Hype Bros, The Ascension and Breezango in a fatal four-way match to become the number one contenders for The Usos' SmackDown Tag Team Championship. On the November 7 episode of "SmackDown Live", they received their title opportunity and won the match by count-out, however, the Usos retained their championships. After trading victories with The Usos the following weeks, they competed in a fatal four-way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against defending champions The Usos, The New Day, and the team of Rusev and Aiden English at Clash of Champions, but failed to win the titles. Two days later on "SmackDown Live", Gable and Benjamin defeated The Usos in a non-title match. They had quietly turned heel during the period of time where they had been challenging The Usos for the Smackdown Live Tag Team Championships by showing more villainous tactics.