On the April 10 and 11, 2017 episodes of "Raw" and "SmackDown", Bryan was involved in the 2017 Superstar Shake-up in which brand's former champions Alexa Bliss, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Heath Slater and Rhyno were traded to Raw. Bryan later took time off from WWE television for paternity leave and returned on the June 20 episode, during which he stripped Carmella of her Money In The Bank briefcase and suspended James Ellsworth due to his interference in the match. On the August 1 episode of "SmackDown", Bryan appointed Shane McMahon as a guest referee for United States Champion AJ Styles's title defense against Kevin Owens at SummerSlam, thereby triggering a long-term feud between Owens and Shane that would ultimately also involve Bryan himself.