On January 4, 2016 episode of Raw, Heath Slater was accompanied to the ring by Curtis Axel, Adam Rose and Bo Dallas for a match against Dolph Ziggler. After distractions from Axel, Rose and Dallas; Slater would pick up the win. Following the win the group cut a promo, calling themselves The Social Outcasts. The following week on Raw, they fought The Wyatt Family to a no contest after interference from Ryback. On the January 14 episode of SmackDown, the four defeated the team of Goldust, Damien Sandow, Jack Swagger and Zack Ryder in an eight man tag match. On February 21 at Fastlane, Axel defeated R-Truth in a singles match. On the March 17 episode of SmackDown all four members announced they would be the first four participants in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, which was won by Baron Corbin. On the April 11 episode of Raw, The Social Outcasts (Axel and Slater) were defeated by the Usos in the first round of a tag team tournament.
On 16 April, Rose was suspended for 60 days after his second violation of the company's Wellness Program. On the following live events, Rose's void was filled by Viktor (whose tag team partner Konnor was also suspended).