During the 2016 WWE draft, Owens was drafted to Raw. At Battleground on July 24, Owens was defeated by Zayn. At SummerSlam on August 21, Owens teamed with Chris Jericho to defeat Enzo Amore and Big Cass. On the August 22 episode of "Raw", Owens defeated Neville to qualify for the vacant Universal Championship fatal four-way elimination match the following week. On the August 29 episode of "Raw", Owens defeated Big Cass, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins after interference from Triple H to win the Universal Championship, his first world title in WWE. Between September and October, Owens successfully defended the title against Rollins, first in a singles match at Clash of Champions on September 25, and then at Hell in a Cell in a Hell in a Cell match on October 30, both times after interferences from Jericho. Owens and Jericho were later announced as co-captains of Team Raw for the traditional Survivor Series match against Team SmackDown, alongside Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at Survivor Series on November 20. At the event, Team SmackDown would emerge victorious.