On the May 2 episode of "Raw", Rusev won a battle royal by last eliminating Zack Ryder to become the No. 1 contender for the United States Championship, which he won for the second time by defeating Kalisto at Extreme Rules via submission. Rusev defeated him in a rematch on the following week's "SmackDown", after which he was confronted by Titus O'Neil, whom Rusev defeated at Money in the Bank to successfully retain the title. Rusev followed this with a successful third title defense against Cesaro and defeated O'Neil on the July 4 episode of "Raw" to retain the title. Rusev was then challenged by Zack Ryder, whom he defeated at Battleground for another successful title defense. In the 2016 WWE draft, Rusev, along with Lana, was drafted to Raw, taking the United States Championship with him. On the August 1 episode of "Raw", after Rusev defeated Mark Henry to retain the title, Roman Reigns came out to confront Rusev. The following week on "Raw", Reigns interrupted Rusev and Lana's wedding re-enactment, and issued a challenge to Rusev for the title. Rusev declined, and the two brawled, causing Lana to fall into a wedding cake. Backstage, Mick Foley told an angered Lana and Rusev that Rusev would defend the United States title against Reigns at SummerSlam. Later that night, Rusev successfully defended the title in an impromptu match against Cesaro, who felt that he should also have a shot at the title. At SummerSlam, the match did not start after Rusev attacked Reigns before the bell rung and the two brawled outside of the ring, with Rusev suffering kayfabe injured ribs. After costing Reigns the opportunity of becoming a No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship, Rusev defended the United States Championship against Reigns in a match at Clash of Champions, which he lost, ending his reign at 126 days. Rusev would then get his rematch at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in a Hell in a Cell match, which he would be unsuccessful.