Rowan returned from injury at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 27, 2019, interfering on behalf of Daniel Bryan to help him retain the WWE Championship against AJ Styles, and forming an alliance with Bryan. On the February 26 episode of "SmackDown Live", Rowan competed in his first match since August 2018, teaming with Bryan in a losing effort to Kofi Kingston and Kevin Owens. On the May 7 episode of "SmackDown Live", Rowan and Bryan defeated The Usos for the vacant SmackDown Tag Team Championship, beginning their first reign as a team, and Rowan's second reign individually. At Money in the Bank, Rowan and Bryan were defeated by The Usos in a non-title match. The following month at Super ShowDown event, Rowan competed in the 51-man battle royal, but failed to win. At Stomping Grounds, Rowan and Bryan retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker). At Extreme Rules, Rowan and Bryan lost the championship to The New Day in a triple threat match also involving Heavy Machinery, ending their reign at 68 days.