On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, The Ascension were drafted to SmackDown brand in the eighth round. On July 26 episode of "SmackDown Live", both members competed in a WWE World Championship #1 contendership six-pack qualifying battle royal, which was won by Apollo Crews. At SummerSlam, The Ascension competed in a 12-man tag team match, where their team lost. They then entered the SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament where they were eliminated in the first round by The Usos. On the pre-show, The Ascension, The Vaudevillains and Curt Hawkins lost a ten-man tag team match against Apollo Crews, American Alpha and The Hype Bros. At the 2017 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, they fought in a tag team turmoil match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but were the last team to be eliminated, losing to the reigning champions American Alpha. At WrestleMania 33, they once again entered the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but neither were successful. At Money in the Bank, The Ascension lost to Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) after they claimed responsibility for a vandal attack in their office. On the June 27 episode of "SmackDown Live," The Ascension was interrogated by Breezango on "Fashion Vice", admitting that they didn't commit the crime and only took responsibility, because they wanted a match at the PPV. In September, the duo turned face when they started trying to befriend Breezango during the latters' 'Fashion Files' segments. On the January 9, 2018 episode of "SmackDown Live", The Ascension suffered a loss to The Bludgeon Brothers, for a while the duo would only appear as supporting characters in Breezango's Fashion Files skits. At Wrestlemania 34, the duo were participants in the 5th annual André the Giant memorial battle royal, with Konnor being the first of the duo to be eliminated followed minutes later by Viktor.