At Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, R-Truth entered the Royal Rumble match at number 2, but was eliminated by Bubba Ray Dudley. At Fastlane, Dean Ambrose stole Bad News Barrett's Intercontinental Championship belt. Over the next few weeks, various wrestlers gained possession of the belt including R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Luke Harper and Stardust. Subsequently, a multiple-man ladder match for the title involving these wrestlers was scheduled for WrestleMania 31. At the event, R-Truth was unsuccessful in winning the championship. On the April 27 episode of "Raw", R-Truth took part in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Stardust in the first round. The following night on the WWE Network, R-Truth lost to Bad News Barrett in the semi-finals. R-Truth defeated Stardust at Payback pre-show. R-Truth participated in the Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, but was eliminated by Ryback, who later won the match. During the match, R-Truth eliminated King Barrett, starting a feud between the two. In the following weeks, R-Truth mocked Barrett, wearing his royal crown and cape while referring to himself as "King What's Up". At the Money in the Bank pre-show, R-Truth defeated Barrett. At the Battleground pre-show, R-Truth faced Barrett in a "Battle for the Crown" match, where if Barrett lost, R-Truth would receive Barrett's crown, R-Truth failed to win the match, which ended their feud.