On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Ziggler was drafted to "SmackDown". On the July 26 episode of "SmackDown", Ziggler won a six-pack challenge against A.J. Styles, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, and John Cena to become the number one contender for the WWE World Championship. On the August 2 edition of "SmackDown", Ziggler defended his contendership against Bray Wyatt. Ziggler won the match, but was attacked afterwards by Wyatt and Erick Rowan, who also laid out Dean Ambrose when he attempted to save Ziggler. On August 21 at SummerSlam, Ziggler was defeated by Ambrose. Next, Ziggler started a feud over The Miz's Intercontinental Championship, failing to capture the title at Backlash after Maryse sprayed something at Ziggler whilst Miz distracted the referee. After failing to win the Intercontinental title in the following weeks, Ziggler would defeat The Miz at No Mercy to win the title in a match where, his he would lose, he would retire. However, he lost the title 37 days later against The Miz on the 900th episode of "SmackDown". The feud culminated in a Ladder match at the event for the championship in what was advertised as their final match, where Ziggler was defeated.