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46-674: The championship was established on January 1, 1975, as the version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in Jim Crockett Promotions , and later assumed by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which eventually seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Harley Race was the inaugural champion. After WCW was purchased by the then- World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001,

92-401: A heptagon with a enlarged U.S. flag along with the company's scratch logo located at the top of the main plate in white and black paint. Below the logo is a gold banner with the words “WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT” etched inside. In the center of the main plate is a black banner with the words “UNITED STATES CHAMPION” etched in gold. On the bottom of the center plate, the name plate attaches to

138-582: A new version of the title was established in Indiana, mostly held by bodybuilder and wrestler Josh Lewis. It has been vacant since Billy Corgan bought the NWA in October 2017. Championship unification Championship unification is the act of combining two or more separate professional wrestling championships into a single title. In professional wrestling , championships may be unified to consolidate

184-711: A physical championship belt, and later became the first to wear a newly designed belt, which was used up through WCW's closing in March 2001, after being purchased by rival promotion, the then- World Wrestling Federation (WWF). When WWF purchased WCW, they used the United States title during the WWF's Invasion storyline. The title was deactivated after being unified with the then- WWF Intercontinental Championship at that year's Survivor Series , when United States Champion Edge defeated Intercontinental Champion Test , becoming

230-557: A result of that year's Superstar Shake-up . Owens was already scheduled to defend the title against Chris Jericho at the Raw-exclusive pay-per-view Payback on April 30. Then-SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan declared that regardless of who won at Payback, the United States Championship would remain on SmackDown; Jericho defeated Owens for the title at Payback and he transferred to SmackDown. During

276-714: A version of the title for his promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Von Erich himself mostly held this title apart from losses to Johnny Valentine , Brute Bernard and The Spoiler . The title was renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968. Later, when WCCW pulled out of the NWA in 1986, the championship was renamed the World Class Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship. The title

322-672: Is a name used for several secondary championships used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1953. At least twelve different versions of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championships have been promoted in various regions across the United States. The NWA's bylaws allowed any NWA member, also known as an NWA territory , to create and control their own version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. The most well known version

368-565: The United States Championship by defeating defending champion Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode in a triple threat match . On the following episode of SmackDown Live , after recapping all of his previous accolades, Ziggler said that the WWE Universe did not deserve him and he dropped the title in the ring and left. After unsuccessful attempts at contacting Ziggler, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan declared

414-424: The 2018 Superstar Shake-up , the title briefly returned to Raw when champion Jinder Mahal was drafted to the brand. However, it was immediately returned to SmackDown after Jeff Hardy defeated Mahal for the title and was drafted to SmackDown the next night. The championship definitively returned to Raw in 2019 when reigning champion Samoa Joe was drafted to the brand during that year's Superstar Shake-up . During

460-561: The Detroit version from 1959 until 1980. Various versions of an "American" or "United States" title had existed going back to 1881 . The Detroit version was the primary singles championship within the NWA Detroit promotion. Over the course of its existence, the title was held by well known names such as Bobo Brazil , The Sheik , Wilbur Snyder , Johnny Valentine , and multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champions Verne Gagne and Dick

506-708: The Mid-Atlantic version of the title from May 1978 until July 1984 when promoter Jack Tunney allied himself with the WWF . The closures of the Detroit and San Francisco territories in October 1980 and January 1981 spelled the end for each of their versions of the title, last held by The Sheik and Dusty Rhodes respectively. (The Sheik continued to claim the title in the Kentucky-based independent International Championship Wrestling in 1981-1984 and continued to wear

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552-604: The American Wrestling Alliance United States Championship and was renamed in 1968, existed from 1960 until 1981. The Toronto version was defended in Frank Tunney's Toronto -based Maple Leaf Wrestling . It existed from 1962 until 1973 when the title was vacated by champion Tiger Jeet Singh after several years of intermittent activity. In 1966, Texas promoter/wrestler Jack Adkisson (aka Fritz Von Erich ) instituted

598-485: The April 6, 1991, episode of World Championship Wrestling , Nikita Koloff destroyed the classic 1980s United States Heavyweight Championship belt during a post-match brawl with Lex Luger, who was in his fourth reign as champion. Koloff, who claimed to be the true champion, knocked Luger unconscious by striking him with the title belt and then repeatedly smashed the championship belt into a ringpost. Luger would appear without

644-660: The Board allowed each promotion to create and promote whatever championship they wanted to. For example, in 1949 the first of many NWA World Tag Team Championships was created in the Los Angeles territory . The earliest version of the NWA United States Heavyweight championship was promoted by Fred Kohler Enterprises . It was known as the Chicago version from 1953 until 1959 and was later known as

690-632: The Bruiser . At around the same time, a version of the US title was established in the Rocky Mountains territory. First held by Gagne, it lasted until 1961. Five years later in 1958, a version was established in St Joseph with Gagne again as inaugural champion, lasted nearly a decade until it was last claimed by former World champion Lou Thesz in 1967. Five more versions were created of the title in

736-641: The NWA in late 1993 until 2016 the only version of the title active in the NWA belonged to NWA Wildside which had a version of the title 1995-2005. Meanwhile, the former Mid Atlantic version was eventually acquired by the WWF in 2001 as part of its purchase of WCW. It was later unified with the WWF Intercontinental Championship in October 2001 before being relaunched as the WWE United States Heavyweight Championship in 2003. In February 2016,

782-642: The November 8, 2024, episode of SmackDown , general manager Nick Aldis introduced the women's counterpart to the United States Championship . The design of the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship from 1991 to 1995 featured five plates. A center plate on the gold background consisted of a map of the Contiguous United States with a flag shown alongside with an eagle. On top of the plate shows

828-619: The United States Championship after winning their world championships). Terry Funk is the oldest champion in the title's history, winning the title at the age of 56 on September 22, 2000, while David Flair is the youngest at the age of 20 on July 5, 1999. Between NWA/WCW and WWE, the title has been vacated 21 times. LA Knight is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Logan Paul at SummerSlam on August 3, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio . NWA United States Heavyweight Championship The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship

874-577: The United States Championship became officially recognized as a component of the re-established honor. In August at that year's SummerSlam , United States Champion John Cena faced WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in a Winner Takes All match , which Rollins ultimately won to become the first wrestler to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and United States Championship simultaneously. Rollins held both titles until Cena defeated Rollins in his rematch for

920-644: The United States Championship belt, along with all other pre-existing championship belts in WWE at the time, received a minor update, replacing the long-standing scratch logo with WWE's current logo that was originally used for the WWE Network that launched earlier that year in February. On the July 6, 2020, episode of Raw , after 17 years since the title's reactivation, MVP introduced a completely new belt design for

966-535: The United States Championship since 2001. The United States Championship began as a regional championship called the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, one of several versions of the title allowed in different territories under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) bylaws. It was created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) run by Jim Crockett Jr. Introduced on January 1, 1975, Harley Race became

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1012-420: The United States Championship. The belt now features only three plates. The center plate is an upside down heptagon. The top portion of the center plate features the WWE logo flanked by white stars on a gold background. Below this, "UNITED STATES" is written in red, with "CHAMPION" prominently written below that in blue; eight stars divide the two. Below the word champion is an eagle with its wings spread out across

1058-465: The WCW logo with the two banners reading on the black background "UNITED STATES" along with two stars on each side while the text says "HEAVYWEIGHT WRESTLING CHAMPION" on the bottom. Both side plates on each side feature one with the U.S. flag with the text "UNITED STATES" while the other shows two wrestlers grappling with the WCW logo on top and the text "CHAMPION" on the bottom. After its minor update in 1995,

1104-408: The belt now featured three plates with the center plate slightly redesigned with the side plates also feature a gold filigree with the text "WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING". This belt would also appear on WWF's programming until November 2001. After its reactivation in July 2003, the newly renamed WWE United States Championship was redesigned. This belt consisted of five plates. The center plate featured

1150-648: The championship the only one from WCW to be reactivated as a WWE title (although the WCW Cruiserweight Championship had also become a WWE title, it was not deactivated and reactivated; it replaced the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship during the Invasion storyline). Eddie Guerrero became the first champion after its reactivation by winning a tournament at that year's Vengeance , defeating Chris Benoit in

1196-660: The early 1960s. Prior to Capitol Wrestling leaving the National Wrestling Alliance and becoming the WWWF , the company hosted a version of the championship for several months in 1960-1961. The only holder of this title was Buddy Rogers , who vacated the title upon winning the NWA World title from Pat O'Connor in Chicago in June 1961. (The WWWF subsequently hosted its own United States Heavyweight Championship from 1963 to 1976.) Over

1242-545: The final match. This was done shortly after the Intercontinental Championship was recommissioned by the Raw brand, making the title its equal counterpart. The first brand extension ended on August 29, 2011, allowing the United States Championship, as well as all other titles, to be defended on both Raw and SmackDown . In 2015, WWE introduced an updated version of its Grand Slam Championship , and

1288-673: The inaugural champion. The title quickly replaced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship as the top singles title in the promotion. The Sheik , then-holder of the Detroit version of the title came to the Toronto territory in and 1974 and was awarded the local version of the title. He defended this as a separate title from his Detroit version, holding it until 1977 except for brief losses to Thunderbolt Patterson in late 1976 and Bobo Brazil in early 1977, after which Maple Leaf Wrestling recognized

1334-513: The inaugural champion. The title quickly replaced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship as the top singles title in the promotion. While the NWA recognized only one World Heavyweight Champion , there was no single undisputed United States Champion as a number of NWA regional promotions recognized their own version of the title and champion. That changed, however, in January 1981; San Francisco -based NWA territory Big Time Wrestling , which

1380-467: The main plate by two screws at the back. One of the side plates featured an light etching of an American bald eagle resting on top of a shield with the WWE logo painted white and red within the shield with an eagleholding a red and white striped banner as well as blue-painted square with a white star at the center is placed above the eagle The other side plate featured an portrait of an Statue of Liberty surrounded by four stars on each corner. In August 2014,

1426-555: The new Intercontinental Champion. In July 2003, a year after the first brand extension went into effect in the promotion renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the title was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship by then- SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon and with a completely new belt design. It was commissioned to be a secondary championship for the SmackDown! brand, making

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1472-766: The next three years, versions were also established in the Central States, Hawaii, San Francisco and Toronto territories. The Central States version was defended in the Central States Wrestling territory around Missouri . It existed from 1961 until 1968. The Hawaiian version was first held by Nick Bockwinkel in 1962 and became the North American title in 1968. The San Francisco version was defended in NWA San Francisco and, later, Big Time Wrestling . The title, which originated as

1518-712: The only two men to have held both the United States Championship and a world championship simultaneously; in Booker T's case, the world title was the WCW World Heavyweight Championship , while Rollins held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (both Lex Luger and Goldberg were the United States Champion when they won their first world championship, but unlike Booker T and Rollins, they vacated

1564-456: The plate, with the red and white stripes of the American flag beneath its wings. Coming in line with WWE's other championship belts, the belt features two side plates with a removable center section that can be customized with the champion's logos; the default side plates consist of a gold WWE logo over a silver globe. Following the revival of the United States Championship in 2003, the title

1610-482: The promotion. After Ted Turner bought the company and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in November 1988, the title continued to be used and recognized as secondary to the World Championship. WCW began to pull itself away from the NWA, demonstrated by the company changing the name of the title to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in January 1991. From the final break of WCW from

1656-413: The secondary championship of the promotion. After Ted Turner bought the company and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in November 1988, the title continued to be used and recognized as secondary to the World Championship. WCW began to pull itself away from the NWA, demonstrated by the company changing the name of the title to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in January 1991. On

1702-479: The then-WCW United States Championship was defended in the WWF until it was unified with the Intercontinental Championship at that year's Survivor Series . After the 2002 brand extension and the promotion being renamed WWE , the championship was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship in July 2003 as a secondary title of the SmackDown brand. The United States Championship has switched between brands over

1748-532: The title at Night of Champions the following month. In July 2016, WWE reintroduced the brand extension; during the draft , United States Champion Rusev was drafted to the Raw brand. Days later, he successfully defended the title against SmackDown draftee Zack Ryder at Battleground , keeping the title exclusive to Raw. On April 11, 2017, United States Champion Kevin Owens , along with the title, moved to SmackDown as

1794-661: The title belt for appearances in promotions such as the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and FMW as late as the early 1990s.) This left the Mid-Atlantic version as the only version active in the NWA. The title remained the primary championship within the Mid-Atlantic territory until 1986 when Crockett gained control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The United States title then became the secondary championship of

1840-450: The title vacant and announced a tournament to crown a new champion. The final was originally scheduled to occur at the 2018 Royal Rumble , but was moved up to the January 23 episode of SmackDown Live . However, on the January 16 episode, after Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode won their respective semifinals matches, Roode challenged Mahal to have the final that night and Bryan scheduled it for that episode's main event. The inaugural champion

1886-570: The years, usually as a result of the WWE Draft ; the 2023 draft moved the title back to SmackDown. Of WWE's currently active championships, the United States Championship is the only one that did not originate in the promotion. It is the second-oldest active title in the company, behind the WWE Championship (1963), but the third longest-tenured championship, behind the WWE and Intercontinental Championships (1979), as WWE has only owned

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1932-479: Was Harley Race . There have been 102 different champions, with Ric Flair having the most reigns at six. The longest-reigning champion is Lex Luger , who held the title for 523 days from May 22, 1989, to October 27, 1990. "Stunning" Steve Austin 's second reign was the shortest, lasting approximately five minutes. Dean Ambrose is the longest-reigning champion under the WWE banner at 351 days, lasting from May 19, 2013, to May 5, 2014. Booker T and Seth Rollins are

1978-696: Was briefly unified by Jerry Lawler with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1988-1989 and continued as the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship until the demise of the USWA in 1997. The most well known version of the championship to have existed is the Mid-Atlantic version. It was created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) run by Jim Crockett Jr. Introduced on January 1, 1975, Harley Race became

2024-482: Was designated to SmackDown. The brand extension was discontinued on August 29, 2011, but it was revived on July 19, 2016. The following list indicates the transitions of the United States Championship between the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The tournament for the vacant WWE United States Championship was held between June 19 and July 27, 2003 for the SmackDown! brand, with the final being at Vengeance (2003) . At Clash of Champions 2017 , Dolph Ziggler won

2070-817: Was the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling version, which later became the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, and is still active as the WWE United States Championship . The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was founded in 1948 after six professional wrestling promoters decided to join together and form a governing body to oversee the various members, later referred to as the NWA territories . The NWA Board of Directors agreed to all recognize one over all NWA World Heavyweight Championship and one NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship across all promotions. Beyond those two championships

2116-433: Was the last remaining promotion outside the Mid-Atlantic territory that recognized its own United States Champion, ceased operations around that time, leaving the Mid-Atlantic version as the only remaining United States Championship. The title remained the primary championship within the Mid-Atlantic territory until 1986 when Crockett gained control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The United States title then became

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