to reclaim the WWE Championship. This led to a match between the two at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, which Styles won. On the following episode of SmackDown, Styles shook hands with McMahon, thus turning face in the process. On the April 11 episode of SmackDown, Styles defeated Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn to become the number one contender for the United States Championship. At Backlash on May 21, Styles lost his match against Kevin Owens for the United States Championship by countout. At Money in the Bank on June 18, Styles competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match, but failed to win. After Styles became once again the number one contender to Owens' championship, a title match was set for Battleground. However, two weeks before the pay-per-view, Styles defeated Owens during a WWE house show at Madison Square Garden on July 7 to capture the United States Championship for the first time in his career. However, at Battleground on July 23, Styles lost the title back to Owens, but regained it two days later on SmackDown in a triple threat match also involving a returning Chris Jericho, beginning his second reign with the championship. At SummerSlam on August 20, Styles defeated Owens to retain the title with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee. After once again defeating Owens two days later on SmackDown to end the feud. In September, Styles began a feud with Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin, leading to a triple threat match at Hell in a Cell on October 8, where Styles lost the title to Corbin who pinned Dillinger, thus ending his reign at 75 days. Two days later on SmackDown, Styles failed to regain the title from Corbin. Year-long WWE Championship reign (2017–2018) On the October 17 episode of SmackDown, Styles began a rivalry with then WWE Champion Jinder Mahal by confronting and attacking him. On October 22, Styles appeared at Raw's exclusive event TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, competing against Finn Bálor due to Bálor's original opponent Bray Wyatt not being cleared to compete, where he was defeated by Bálor. On the November 7 episode of SmackDown in Manchester, England, Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the WWE Championship for the second time in what marked the first time the title changed hands on SmackDown since September 2003, becoming recognized by WWE as the first titleholder crowned outside of North