On July 3, it was announced that Nakamura would face Jeff Hardy for the WWE United States Championship at Extreme Rules. At the event on July 15, Nakamura executed a low blow and "Kinshasa" on Hardy to win the championship, marking his first main roster title win. After the match, Nakamura was confronted by the returning Randy Orton, who proceeded to attack Hardy before leaving. Nakamura would successfully defend the title in a rematch against Hardy at SummerSlam. On the August 27 episode of "SmackDown Live", Nakamura would later refuse to compete, claiming that the United States of America had been renamed "Naka-Merica" and that he wouldn't face anyone until he found a worthy opponent.