entered the 2016 Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but was unsuccessful after being eliminated by Sami Zayn. The following night on Raw, Owens entered a feud with Dolph Ziggler, with the two trading victories over each other on back to back episodes of Raw. On the February 15 episode of Raw, Owens won the Intercontinental Championship for a second time, defeating former champion Dean Ambrose, Stardust, Tyler Breeze and Ziggler in a fatal five-way match. At Fastlane on February 21, Owens successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Ziggler. At WrestleMania 32 on April 3, Owens lost the title against Zack Ryder in a seven-way ladder match. He resumed the feud with longtime rival Sami Zayn after he attacked him on Raw, which led to a match at Payback on May 1, where Owens defeated Zayn. At Extreme Rules on May 22, Owens faced Zayn, Cesaro and Miz in a fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but failed to regain the title when Miz pinned Cesaro. The following night on Raw, Owens defeated AJ Styles to qualify for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, but he failed to win the match at the event on June 19. Universal Champion (2016–2017) 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. The following night on Raw, Owens defeated Rollins in a No Disqualification match to