Ziggler, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn would compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank on June 18, during which Corbin attacked him with both a ladder and a camera while making his entrance. Nakamura was checked on by medical staff and carried out of the arena, but he later returned during the match and attacked all other participants, only to lose the match when Corbin retrieved the briefcase. At Battleground on July 23, Nakamura defeated Corbin by disqualification after Corbin attacked him with a low blow. Two days later on SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated Corbin in a rematch to end their feud. On the August 1 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated John Cena to earn the right to challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship on August 20 at SummerSlam, where Nakamura lost after interference from The Singh Brothers and marking his first pinfall loss on the main roster. On the September 5 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated Randy Orton to earn another title shot against Mahal for the title at Hell in a Cell on October 8, where he lost again. On the October 31 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated Kevin Owens to earn a spot on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series on November 19, where he was the first man to be eliminated by Braun Strowman in the 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match against Team Raw. At Clash of Champions on December 17, Nakamura teamed up with Randy Orton in a losing effort against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who retained their jobs with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon serving as special guest referees. On the inaugural episode of Mixed Match Challenge on January 16, 2018, Nakamura teamed with Natalya in the Mixed Match Challenge tournament, but the duo was defeated by Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks in the first round. On January 28 at the Royal Rumble, Nakamura would enter the namesake match at number 14 and go on to win the men's Royal Rumble match after last eliminating Roman Reigns. Immediately afterwards, Nakamura announced that he would challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 on April 8, where he lost to Styles. After the match, Nakamura turned heel by attacking Styles with a low blow followed by a Kinshasa. On the following episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura said in an interview that he