WWE United States Championship
Encyclopedia
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling
championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA) and World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw
brand
.
run by Jim Crockett, Jr.
Following the title's introduction in 1975, Harley Race
became the inaugural champion on January 1. The title quickly replaced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
as the top singles title in the promotion. While the National Wrestling Alliance
recognized only one World Heavyweight Champion
, there was no single undisputed U.S. Champion as a number of NWA regional promotions recognized their own version of the title and champion. That all changed, however, in January 1981 when the NWA territory based out of San Francisco, the last remaining promotion outside the Mid-Atlantic territory that recognized its own U.S. Champion, folded. The title remained the primary championship within the Mid-Atlantic territory until 1986 when Crockett gained control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The U.S. Title then became the secondary championship of the promotion. After Ted Turner
bought the company and renamed it World Championship Wrestling
in November 1988, the title continued to be used and recognized as secondary to the World Championship. WCW eventually began to slowly pull itself away from the NWA, demonstrated by the company changing the name of the title to the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) United States Heavyweight Championship in January 1991.
In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling, and with that, the United States Championship became WWF property. Throughout 2001, the title was referred to as the WCW United States Championship, as this was during The Invasion period. At Survivor Series 2001
, the title was unified
with the WWF Intercontinental Championship
. The United States Champion, Edge, defeated the Intercontinental Champion, Test, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion and the United States Championship was then deactivated.
In July 2003, the title was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship by SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, and was commissioned to be a secondary championship to the SmackDown! brand. Eddie Guerrero
became the first champion after months of been vacated through A tournament in the finals at Vengeance 2003 vs Chris Benoit
, WCW was drop from the name, and WWE was added. This was done shortly after the WWE Intercontinental Championship was recommissioned by the Raw
brand, making the title its equal counterpart. However, WWE has yet to officially declare whether the United States Championship can be an acceptable substitute to complete the Triple Crown and/or the Grand Slam (though both John "Bradshaw" Layfield in 2006 and The Miz in 2010 have claimed Grand Slam status with their U.S. Championship reigns). The title remained on SmackDown until April 13, 2009, when reigning champion Montel Vontavious Porter was drafted from SmackDown over to Raw
during the 2009 WWE Draft
, moving the title with him. On April 26, 2011, reigning champion Sheamus was drafted to SmackDown during the 2011 WWE Draft
, briefly bringing the U.S. Title back to the show. Five days later, Raw's Kofi Kingston
defeated Sheamus for the title at Extreme Rules
, returning it to Raw.
was Harley Race
. There have been 73 different champions, with Chris Benoit
, Ric Flair
, Bret Hart
, Lex Luger
and Wahoo McDaniel
having the most official reigns at five. Flair has the most overall reigns at six, however not all are officially recognized. The longest reigning champion was Lex Luger who held the title for 523 days from May 22, 1989 to October 27, 1990. The shortest reigning champion was Steve Austin
who held the title for approximately five minutes. During John Cena
's last reign as the United States Champion, he made a custom "spinner" version of the belt. On an episode of SmackDown, the "spinner" version was destroyed, with the help of John Bradshaw Layfield
, after Orlando Jordan
defeated Cena at a previous event for the title, in which after destroying the belt, they returned the traditional style belt. The current champion is Dolph Ziggler, who is in his first reign. He defeated Kofi Kingston
for the title on June 19, 2011 in Washington, D.C.
during the Capitol Punishment
PPV.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA) and World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
.
History
The WWE United States Championship was originally known as the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and began as a regional championship created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
run by Jim Crockett, Jr.
Jim Crockett, Jr.
Jim Crockett, Jr. is a former professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1988, he owned Jim Crockett Promotions , a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance...
Following the title's introduction in 1975, Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
became the inaugural champion on January 1. The title quickly replaced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions , a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers...
as the top singles title in the promotion. While the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
recognized only one World Heavyweight Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, there was no single undisputed U.S. Champion as a number of NWA regional promotions recognized their own version of the title and champion. That all changed, however, in January 1981 when the NWA territory based out of San Francisco, the last remaining promotion outside the Mid-Atlantic territory that recognized its own U.S. Champion, folded. The title remained the primary championship within the Mid-Atlantic territory until 1986 when Crockett gained control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The U.S. Title then became the secondary championship of the promotion. After Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
bought the company and renamed it World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
in November 1988, the title continued to be used and recognized as secondary to the World Championship. WCW eventually began to slowly pull itself away from the NWA, demonstrated by the company changing the name of the title to the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) United States Heavyweight Championship in January 1991.
In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling, and with that, the United States Championship became WWF property. Throughout 2001, the title was referred to as the WCW United States Championship, as this was during The Invasion period. At Survivor Series 2001
Survivor Series (2001)
Survivor Series was the fifteenth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
, the title was unified
Championship unification
Championship unification is the act of combining two or more separate professional wrestling championships into a single title.-History:In professional wrestling, championships may be unified to consolidate the number of championships in a given promotion, or to add legitimacy and prestige to a...
with the WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. The United States Champion, Edge, defeated the Intercontinental Champion, Test, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion and the United States Championship was then deactivated.
In July 2003, the title was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship by SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, and was commissioned to be a secondary championship to the SmackDown! brand. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
became the first champion after months of been vacated through A tournament in the finals at Vengeance 2003 vs Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
, WCW was drop from the name, and WWE was added. This was done shortly after the WWE Intercontinental Championship was recommissioned by the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand, making the title its equal counterpart. However, WWE has yet to officially declare whether the United States Championship can be an acceptable substitute to complete the Triple Crown and/or the Grand Slam (though both John "Bradshaw" Layfield in 2006 and The Miz in 2010 have claimed Grand Slam status with their U.S. Championship reigns). The title remained on SmackDown until April 13, 2009, when reigning champion Montel Vontavious Porter was drafted from SmackDown over to Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
during the 2009 WWE Draft
2009 WWE Draft
The 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the seventh Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 13; the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 15...
, moving the title with him. On April 26, 2011, reigning champion Sheamus was drafted to SmackDown during the 2011 WWE Draft
2011 WWE Draft
The 2011 WWE Draft was the eighth annual draft held by WWE, which took place on April 25. With a core business of professional wrestling, the corporation held a draft to exchange personnel assigned to one of its two television programs that are independent brands that represent WWE...
, briefly bringing the U.S. Title back to the show. Five days later, Raw's Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
defeated Sheamus for the title at Extreme Rules
Extreme Rules (2011)
Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida...
, returning it to Raw.
Reigns
The inaugural championChampion
A champion is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions...
was Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
. There have been 73 different champions, with Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
, Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
, Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
and Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo McDaniel
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
having the most official reigns at five. Flair has the most overall reigns at six, however not all are officially recognized. The longest reigning champion was Lex Luger who held the title for 523 days from May 22, 1989 to October 27, 1990. The shortest reigning champion was Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
who held the title for approximately five minutes. During John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
's last reign as the United States Champion, he made a custom "spinner" version of the belt. On an episode of SmackDown, the "spinner" version was destroyed, with the help of John Bradshaw Layfield
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
, after Orlando Jordan
Orlando Jordan
Orlando Jordan is an American professional wrestler, most recently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Jordan is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time United States Champion....
defeated Cena at a previous event for the title, in which after destroying the belt, they returned the traditional style belt. The current champion is Dolph Ziggler, who is in his first reign. He defeated Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
for the title on June 19, 2011 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
during the Capitol Punishment
WWE Capitol Punishment
Capitol Punishment was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C....
PPV.