List of WWE United States Champions - Title History - Reigns

Reigns

As of November 27, 2012.

† indicates reigns and title changes not recognized by WWE.
# Wrestler Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Harley Race 1 01975-01-01January 1, 1975 183 Tallahassee, FL — Race was awarded the title with the explanation that he defeated Johnny Weaver in a tournament final.
2 Johnny Valentine 1 01975-07-03July 3, 1975 93 Greensboro, NC Live event
— Vacated — 01975-10-04October 4, 1975 — — — Vacated when Valentine suffered a career-ending injury in a plane crash.
3 Terry Funk 1 01975-11-09November 9, 1975 18 Greensboro, NC Live event Defeated Paul Jones in a tournament final.
4 Paul Jones 1 01975-11-27November 27, 1975 107 Greensboro, NC Live event
5 Blackjack Mulligan 1 01976-03-13March 13, 1976 217 Greensboro, NC Live event
6 Paul Jones 2 01976-10-16October 16, 1976 43 Greensboro, NC Live event
— Blackjack Mulligan 1(2)† 01976-11-28November 28, 1976 11 Charlotte, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
— Paul Jones 2(3)† 01976-12-09December 9, 1976 6 Winston-Salem, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
7 Blackjack Mulligan 2(3)† 01976-12-15December 15, 1976 204 Raleigh, NC Live event
8 Bobo Brazil 1 01977-07-07July 7, 1977 22 Norfolk, VA Live event
9 Ric Flair 1 01977-07-29July 29, 1977 84 Richmond, VA Live event
10 Ricky Steamboat 1 01977-10-21October 21, 1977 72 Charleston, SC Live event
11 Blackjack Mulligan 3(4)† 01978-01-01January 1, 1978 77 Greensboro, NC Live event
12 Mr. Wrestling 1 01978-03-19March 19, 1978 21 Greensboro, NC Live event
13 Ric Flair 2 01978-04-09April 9, 1978 265 Charlotte, NC Live event
14 Ricky Steamboat 2 01978-12-30December 30, 1978 92 Greensboro, NC Live event
15 Ric Flair 3 01979-04-01April 1, 1979 133 Greensboro, NC Live event
— Vacated — 01979-08-12August 12, 1979 — — — Vacated when Flair won the NWA World Tag Team Championship four days prior.
16 Jimmy Snuka 1 01979-09-01September 1, 1979 231 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final.
17 Ric Flair 4 01980-04-19April 19, 1980 98 Greensboro, NC Live event
— Greg Valentine 1† 01980-07-26July 26, 1980 121 Charlotte, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
— Ric Flair 4(5)† 01980-11-24November 24, 1980 64 Greenville, SC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
18 Roddy Piper 1 01981-01-27January 27, 1981 193 Raleigh, NC Live event The title becomes the undisputed NWA US Championship in January 1981 after the NWA San Francisco office, the last other promotion to recognize its own United States Champion, closes.
19 Wahoo McDaniel 1 01981-08-08August 8, 1981 24¤ Greensboro, NC Live event
— Vacated — 01981-09-01September 1981 — — — Vacated when McDaniel was injured by Abdullah the Butcher.
20 Sgt. Slaughter 1 01981-10-04October 4, 1981 229 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final.
21 Wahoo McDaniel 2 01982-05-21May 21, 1982 17 Richmond, VA Live event
22 Sgt. Slaughter 2 01982-06-07June 7, 1982 76 Greenville, SC Live event Slaughter was awarded the title due to McDaniel being injured by Don Muraco and Roddy Piper.
23 Wahoo McDaniel 3 01982-08-22August 22, 1982 74 Charlotte, NC Live event
24 Greg Valentine 1(2)† 01982-11-04November 4, 1982 163 Norfolk, VA Live event
25 Roddy Piper 2 01983-04-16April 16, 1983 14 Greensboro, NC Live event
26 Greg Valentine 2(3)† 01983-04-30April 30, 1983 228 Greensboro, NC Live event Valentine won via referee stoppage when Piper suffered a large cut over his left ear.
27 Dick Slater 1 01983-12-14December 14, 1983 129 Shelby, NC Live event
28 Ricky Steamboat 3 01984-04-21April 21, 1984 64 Greensboro, NC Live event
29 Wahoo McDaniel 4 01984-06-24June 24, 1984 7¤ Greensboro, NC Live event
— Vacated — 01984-07-01July 1984 — — — Vacated due to Tully Blanchard interfering in McDaniel's title win.
30 Wahoo McDaniel 5 01984-10-07October 7, 1984 167 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Manny Fernandez in a tournament final.
31 Magnum T.A. 1 01985-03-23March 23, 1985 120 Charlotte, NC Live event
32 Tully Blanchard 1 01985-07-21July 21, 1985 130 Charlotte, NC Live event
33 Magnum T.A. 2 01985-11-28November 28, 1985 182 Greensboro, NC Starrcade '85: The Gathering This was an "I Quit" steel cage match.
— Vacated — 01986-05-29May 29, 1986 — — — Vacated when Magnum attacked NWA president Bob Geigel.
34 Nikita Koloff 1 01986-08-17August 17, 1986 328 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Magnum T.A. in a best of seven series, though WWE officially says it was a tournament final. Koloff defeats Wahoo McDaniel on September 28, 1986 to unify the NWA National Heavyweight Championship into the US title.
35 Lex Luger 1 01987-07-11July 11, 1987 138 Greensboro, NC Live event This was a steel cage match.
36 Dusty Rhodes 1 01987-11-26November 26, 1987 141 Chicago, IL Starrcade '87 This was a steel cage match.
— Vacated — 01988-04-15April 15, 1988 — — — Vacated when Rhodes attacked NWA President Jim Crockett.
37 Barry Windham 1 01988-05-13May 13, 1988 283 Houston, TX Live event Defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final.
38 Lex Luger 2 01989-02-20February 20, 1989 76 Chicago, IL Chi-Town Rumble
39 Michael Hayes 1 01989-05-07May 7, 1989 15 Nashville, TN WrestleWar 1989: Music City Showdown
40 Lex Luger 3 01989-05-22May 22, 1989 523 Bluefield, WV Live event Luger becomes the longest-reigning champion in the title's history, holding it for over 17 months.
41 Stan Hansen 1 01990-10-27October 27, 1990 50 Chicago, IL Halloween Havoc
42 Lex Luger 4 01990-12-16December 16, 1990 210 St. Louis, MO Starrcade '90 This was a Texas Bullrope match.
— Vacated — 01991-07-14July 14, 1991 — Baltimore, MD The Great American Bash Vacated when Luger wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
43 Sting 1 01991-08-25August 25, 1991 86 Atlanta, GA Live event Defeated Steve Austin in a tournament final.
44 Rick Rude 1 01991-11-19November 19, 1991 378¤ Savannah, GA Clash of the Champions XVII
— Vacated — 01992-12-01December 1992 — — — Vacated due to injury.
45 Dustin Rhodes 1 01993-01-11January 11, 1993 138 Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match that was originally made to determine the #1 contender, but upon Rude's vacation of the title, was made to decide the new champion. Aired January 16, 1993.
— Vacated — 01993-05-29May 29, 1993 — — WorldWide Vacated two weeks following a title defense against Rick Rude which ended in a double pinfall, which aired on 5/15.
46 Dustin Rhodes 2 01993-08-30August 30, 1993 119 Atlanta, GA Live event Defeated Rude in a rematch. WCW withdraws from the NWA in September 1993; the NWA begins to recognize its own US champion, but Rhodes remains the recognized champion in WCW.
47 Steve Austin 1 01993-12-27December 27, 1993 240 Charlotte, NC Starrcade '93: 10th Anniversary This was a two out of three falls match, which Austin won 2–0.
48 Ricky Steamboat 4 01994-08-24August 24, 1994 25 Cedar Rapids, IA Clash of the Champions XXVIII
49 Steve Austin 2 01994-09-18September 18, 1994 0 Roanoke, VA Fall Brawl 1994: War Games Austin was awarded the title due to Steamboat being injured.
50 Jim Duggan 1 100 Duggan beat Austin in 33 seconds.
51 Vader 1 01994-12-27December 27, 1994 88 Nashville, TN Starrcade: Triple Threat
— Vacated — 01995-03-25March 25, 1995 — Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Stripped by WCW commissioner Nick Bockwinkel for hospitalizing Dave Sullivan one week prior.
52 Sting 2 01995-06-18June 18, 1995 148 Dayton, OH The Great American Bash Defeated Meng in a tournament final.
53 Kensuke Sasaki 1 01995-11-13November 13, 1995 44 Tokyo, Japan Live event Won the title at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event.
54 One Man Gang 1 01995-12-27December 27, 1995 33 Nashville, TN Starrcade: World Cup of Wrestling Won in a post-PPV dark match. Although the match was restarted and Sasaki subsequently retained the title, this was never acknowledged by WCW.
55 Konnan 1 01996-01-29January 29, 1996 160 Canton, OH Main Event
056 !56 Ric Flair 5(6)† 01996-07-07July 7, 1996 56¤ Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach
— Vacated — 01996-10-01October 1996 — — — Title declared vacant due to shoulder injury.
57 Eddie Guerrero 1 01996-12-29December 29, 1996 77 Nashville, TN Starrcade Defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a tournament final.
58 Dean Malenko 1 01997-03-16March 16, 1997 85 North Charleston, SC Uncensored
59 Jeff Jarrett 1 01997-06-09June 9, 1997 73 Boston, MA Monday Nitro
60 Steve McMichael 1 01997-08-21August 21, 1997 25 Nashville, TN Clash of the Champions XXXV
61 Curt Hennig 1 01997-09-15September 15, 1997 104 Charlotte, NC Monday Nitro
62 Diamond Dallas Page 1 01997-12-28December 28, 1997 112 Washington, D.C. Starrcade
63 Raven 1 01998-04-19April 19, 1998 1 Denver, CO Spring Stampede
64 Goldberg 1 01998-04-20April 20, 1998 77 Colorado Springs, CO Monday Nitro
— Vacated — 01998-07-06July 6, 1998 — Atlanta, GA Monday Nitro Vacated when Goldberg wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
65 Bret Hart 1 01998-07-20July 20, 1998 21 Salt Lake City, UT Monday Nitro Defeated Diamond Dallas Page.
66 Lex Luger 5 01998-08-10August 10, 1998 1 Rapid City, SD Monday Nitro
67 Bret Hart 2 01998-08-11August 11, 1998 76 Fargo, ND Thunder Aired August 13, 1998.
68 Diamond Dallas Page 2 01998-10-26October 26, 1998 35 Phoenix, AZ Monday Nitro
69 Bret Hart 3 01998-11-30November 30, 1998 70 Chattanooga, TN Monday Nitro This was a no disqualification match.
70 Roddy Piper 3 01999-02-08February 8, 1999 13 Buffalo, NY Monday Nitro
71 Scott Hall 1 01999-02-21February 21, 1999 25 Oakland, CA SuperBrawl IX
— Vacated — 01999-03-18March 18, 1999 — — Thunder Stripped by WCW President Ric Flair.
72 Scott Steiner 1 01999-04-11April 11, 1999 85 Tacoma, WA Spring Stampede Defeated Booker T in a tournament final.
— Vacated — 01999-07-05July 5, 1999 — Atlanta, GA Monday Nitro Stripped by WCW President Ric Flair.
73 David Flair 1 35 Flair was awarded the title by his father Ric.
74 Chris Benoit 1 01999-08-09August 9, 1999 34 Boise, ID Monday Nitro
75 Sid Vicious 1 01999-09-12September 12, 1999 42 Winston-Salem, NC Fall Brawl
76 Goldberg 2 01999-10-24October 24, 1999 1 Las Vegas, NV Halloween Havoc Won the title by referee stoppage when Vicious suffered excessive bleeding.
77 Bret Hart 4 01999-10-25October 25, 1999 14 Phoenix, AZ Monday Nitro
78 Scott Hall 2 01999-11-08November 8, 1999 41 Indianapolis, IN Monday Nitro This was a four-way ladder match, also involving Sid Vicious and Goldberg.
79 Chris Benoit 2 01999-12-19December 19, 1999 1 Washington, D.C. Starrcade Benoit was awarded the title when Hall suffered a knee injury.
80 Jeff Jarrett 2 01999-12-20December 20, 1999 27 Baltimore, MD Monday Nitro This was a ladder match.
— Vacated — 02000-01-16January 16, 2000 — Cincinnati, OH Souled Out Vacated due to injury.
81 Jeff Jarrett 3 02000-01-17January 17, 2000 84 Columbus, OH Monday Nitro Awarded by WCW Commissioner Kevin Nash.
— Vacated — 02000-04-10April 10, 2000 — Denver, CO Monday Nitro Vacated by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo along with all other WCW titles.
82 Scott Steiner 2 02000-04-16April 16, 2000 84 Chicago, IL Spring Stampede Defeated Sting in a tournament final.
— Vacated — 02000-07-09July 9, 2000 — Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach Stripped when Steiner used the banned Steiner Recliner on Mike Awesome.
83 Lance Storm 1 02000-07-18July 18, 2000 66 Auburn Hills, MI Monday Nitro Defeated Mike Awesome in a tournament final. Storm unofficially renames the title the WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship.
84 Terry Funk 2 02000-09-22September 22, 2000 1 Amarillo, TX Live event
85 Lance Storm 2 02000-09-23September 23, 2000 36 Lubbock, TX Live event
86 Gen. Rection 1 02000-10-29October 29, 2000 15 Las Vegas, NV Halloween Havoc Defeated Storm and Jim Duggan in a handicap match.
87 Lance Storm 3 02000-11-13November 13, 2000 13 London, England Monday Nitro
88 Gen. Rection 2 02000-11-26November 26, 2000 49 Milwaukee, WI Mayhem
89 Shane Douglas 1 02001-01-14January 14, 2001 22 Indianapolis, IN Sin This was a first blood chain match.
90 Rick Steiner 1 02001-02-05February 5, 2001 41 Tupelo, MS Monday Nitro
91 Booker T 1 02001-03-18March 18, 2001 128 Jacksonville, FL Greed Also wins WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 26. WCW is purchased by the World Wrestling Federation at this time.
92 Kanyon 1 02001-07-24July 24, 2001 48 Pittsburgh, PA SmackDown! Awarded by Booker T and ECW owner Stephanie McMahon. Aired July 26, 2001.
93 Tajiri 1 02001-09-10September 10, 2001 13 San Antonio, TX Raw is War
94 Rhyno 1 02001-09-23September 23, 2001 29 Pittsburgh, PA Unforgiven
95 Kurt Angle 1 02001-10-22October 22, 2001 21 Kansas City, MO Raw
96 Edge 1 02001-11-12November 12, 2001 6 Boston, MA Raw
— Unified — 02001-11-18November 18, 2001 — Greensboro, NC Survivor Series Edge defeats WWF Intercontinental Champion Test to unify the two titles. Edge becomes Intercontinental Champion while the United States title is retired.
97 Eddie Guerrero 2 02003-07-27July 27, 2003 84 Denver, CO Vengeance Defeated Chris Benoit in a tournament final to revive the title.
98 Big Show 1 02003-10-19October 19, 2003 147 Baltimore, MD No Mercy
99 John Cena 1 02004-03-14March 14, 2004 114 New York, NY WrestleMania XX This was the first time in history that the championship was defended at a WrestleMania event.
— Vacated — 02004-07-06July 6, 2004 — Winnipeg, MB SmackDown! Cena was stripped of the title after attacking SmackDown! General Manager Kurt Angle. Aired on July 8, 2004
100 Booker T 2 02004-07-27July 27, 2004 68 Cincinnati, OH SmackDown! This was an 8-way elimination match, also involving John Cena, René Duprée, Kenzo Suzuki, Rob Van Dam, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas and Luther Reigns. Aired July 29, 2004.
101 John Cena 2 02004-10-03October 3, 2004 2 East Rutherford, NJ No Mercy This was the fifth match of a Best of Five series.
102 Carlito 1 02004-10-05October 5, 2004 42 Boston, MA SmackDown! Aired on October 7, 2004
103 John Cena 3 02004-11-16November 16, 2004 105 Dayton, OH SmackDown! Aired on November 18, 2004
104 Orlando Jordan 1 02005-03-01March 1, 2005 173 Albany, NY SmackDown! Aired on March 3, 2005.
105 Chris Benoit 3 02005-08-21August 21, 2005 58 Washington, D.C. SummerSlam Won the title in 25 seconds.
106 Booker T 3 02005-10-18October 18, 2005 35 Reno, NV Friday Night SmackDown! Aired October 21, 2005.
— Vacated — 02005-11-22November 22, 2005 — Sheffield, England Friday Night SmackDown! Vacated when a title defense against Chris Benoit ended in a double pinfall. Aired November 25, 2005.
107 Booker T 4 02006-01-10January 10, 2006 40 Philadelphia, PA Friday Night SmackDown! Booker faced Benoit in a Best of Seven series, winning the first three matches; Randy Orton substituted for Booker after that due to injury, losing the next three matches but winning the final. Aired January 13, 2006.
108 Chris Benoit 4 02006-02-19February 19, 2006 42 Baltimore, MD No Way Out
109 John "Bradshaw" Layfield 1 02006-04-02April 2, 2006 51 Rosemont, IL WrestleMania 22
110 Bobby Lashley 1 02006-05-23May 23, 2006 49 Bakersfield, CA SmackDown! Aired May 26, 2006.
111 Finlay 1 02006-07-11July 11, 2006 49 Minneapolis, MN SmackDown! Aired July 14, 2006.
112 Mr. Kennedy 1 02006-08-29August 29, 2006 42 Reading, PA SmackDown! This was a Triple Threat match also involving Bobby Lashley, which aired September 1, 2006.
113 Chris Benoit 5 02006-10-10October 10, 2006 222 Jacksonville, FL SmackDown! Aired October 13, 2006.
114 Montel Vontavious Porter 1 02007-05-20May 20, 2007 343 St. Louis, MO Judgment Day This was a Two Out Of Three Falls match, which MVP won 2–0.
115 Matt Hardy 1 02008-04-27April 27, 2008 84 Baltimore, MD Backlash The title became an ECW exclusive title when Hardy was drafted to ECW on June 23, 2008.
116 !116 Shelton Benjamin 1 02008-07-20July 20, 2008 240 Uniondale, NY The Great American Bash The title was returned to SmackDown due to Benjamin's status as a SmackDown superstar.
117 Montel Vontavious Porter 2 02009-03-17March 17, 2009 76 Corpus Christi, TX SmackDown! Aired March 20, 2009. The title became a Raw exclusive title when MVP was drafted to Raw on April 13.
118 Kofi Kingston 1 02009-06-01June 1, 2009 126 Birmingham, AL Raw
119 The Miz 1 02009-10-05October 5, 2009 224 Wilkes-Barre, PA Raw
120 Bret Hart 5 02010-05-17May 17, 2010 7 Toronto, ON Raw This was a no disqualification, no count out match.
— Vacated — 02010-05-24May 24, 2010 — Toledo, OH Raw Vacated when Bret Hart became General Manager of Raw.
121 R-Truth 1 21 Defeated The Miz to win the vacant title.
122 The Miz 2 02010-06-14June 14, 2010 97 Charlotte, NC Raw This was a Fatal Four Way match also involving John Morrison and Zack Ryder.
123 Daniel Bryan 1 02010-09-19September 19, 2010 176 Rosemont, IL Night of Champions
124 Sheamus 1 02011-03-14March 14, 2011 48 St. Louis, MO Raw Title becomes exclusive to SmackDown once again when Sheamus is drafted to SmackDown via the Supplemental Draft on April 26, 2011. If Sheamus lost he would've quit the WWE
125 Kofi Kingston 2 02011-05-01May 1, 2011 49 Tampa, FL Extreme Rules This was a Tables match. Title becomes exclusive to Raw once again due to Kingston's status as a Raw Superstar.
126 Dolph Ziggler 1 02011-06-19June 19, 2011 182 Washington, D.C. Capitol Punishment
127 Zack Ryder 1 02011-12-18December 18, 2011 29 Baltimore, MD TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
128 Jack Swagger 1 02012-01-16January 16, 2012 49 Anaheim, CA Raw
129 Santino Marella 1 02012-03-05March 5, 2012 167 Boston, MA Raw
130 Antonio Cesaro 1 02012-08-19August 19, 2012 100+ Los Angeles, CA SummerSlam Match aired live on YouTube and WWE.com as part of the SummerSlam pre-show.

¤There are no records of the day the reign ended, only the month so the first day of the month is counted.

Read more about this topic:  List Of WWE United States Champions, Title History

Famous quotes containing the word reigns:

    “In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs for ever and ever.”
    —Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

    “In my Pantheon, Pan still reigns in his pristine glory, with his ruddy face, his flowing beard, and his shaggy body, his pipe and his crook, his nymph Echo, and his chosen daughter Iambe; for the great god Pan is not dead, as was rumored. No god ever dies. Perhaps of all the gods of New England and of ancient Greece, I am most constant at his shrine.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “In the whole vast dome of living nature there reigns an open violence, a kind of prescriptive fury which arms all the creatures to their common doom: as soon as you leave the inanimate kingdom you find the decree of violent death inscribed on the very frontiers of life.”
    —Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821)