List of IWE United States Champions
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|''[[IWE Raw|Raw]]'' | |''[[IWE Raw|Raw]]'' |
Revision as of 23:03, 29 March 2015
The IWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested for in and owned by the American promotion IWE. It was originally known as the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and began as a regional championship created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling run by Jim Crockett, Jr.. Following the title's introduction in 1975, Harley Race became the inaugural champion on January 1. 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. In March 2001, the IWF bought the bankrupt World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The new acquisitions resulted in the WCW United States Championship becoming another championship for the IWF. In 2001 at Survivor Series, the United States and IWE Intercontinental Championships were unified, though in July 2003, the title reemerged as the IWE United States Championship and was commissioned to be a secondary championship to the SmackDown! brand. Currently it is the secondary championship on the Raw brand.
The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. Some reigns were held by champions using a ring name, while others used their real name. The first champion was Harley Race, who won the championship in 1975, while as of January 2025 the current champion is Zack Nuss, who is in his first reign. Currently, the title belongs to the Raw brand. Overall, there have been 74 different champions. Kevin Hunter, Ric Flair, Bret Heart, Brent Huntley, and Wahoo McDaniel are tied for having the most reigns at five each. Huntley holds the record for longest reign, with his third reign lasting a total of 523 days. Mikhail Vontavious Porter holds the longest reign since IWE reactivated the title; his first reign lasted 343 days. This reign is also the third longest in the title's history.
Contents[hide] |
Title history
Names
Name | Years |
---|---|
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) | January 1, 1975–January 27, 1981 |
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Undisputed) | January 27, 1981–1991 |
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 1991–2001 |
WCW United States Championship | 2001 |
IWE United States Championship | 2003 – present |
Reigns
As of January 24, 2025.
- † indicates reigns and title changes not recognized by IWE.
# | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Harley Race | 1 | January 1, 1975 | 183 | Tallahassee, FL | N/A | Race was awarded the title with the explanation that he defeated Johnny Weaver in a tournament final. |
2 | Johnny Beasly | 1 | July 3, 1975 | 93 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
— | Vacated | — | October 4, 1975 | — | — | — | Vacated when Beasly suffers a career-ending injury in a plane crash. |
3 | Terry Funk | 1 | November 9, 1975 | 18 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | Defeated Paul Jones in a tournament final. |
4 | Paul Jones | 1 | November 27, 1975 | 107 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
5 | Blackjack Mulligan | 1 | March 13, 1976 | 217 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
6 | Paul Jones | 2 | October 16, 1976 | 43 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
7 | Blackjack Mulligan | 2 | November 28, 1976 | 11 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | Title change unrecognized by IWE. |
8 | Paul Jones | 3 | December 9, 1976 | 6 | Winston-Salem, NC | Live event | Title change unrecognized by IWE. |
9 | Blackjack Mulligan | 3 | December 15, 1976 | 204 | Raleigh, NC | Live event | |
10 | Bobo Brazil | 1 | July 7, 1977 | 22 | Norfolk, VA | Live event | |
11 | Ric Flair | 1 | July 29, 1977 | 84 | Richmond, VA | Live event | |
12 | Ricky Steamboat | 1 | October, 21, 1977 | 72 | Charleston, SC | Live event | |
13 | Blackjack Mulligan | 4 | January 1, 1978 | 77 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
14 | Mr. Wrestling | 1 | March 19, 1978 | 21 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
15 | Ric Flair | 2 | April 9, 1978 | 265 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | |
16 | Ricky Steamboat | 2 | December 30, 1978 | 92 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
17 | Ric Flair | 3 | April 1, 1979 | 133 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
— | Vacated | — | August 12, 1979 | — | — | — | Vacated when Flair wins the NWA World Tag Team Championship four days prior. |
18 | Jimmy Snuka | 1 | September 1, 1979 | 231 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final. |
19 | Ric Flair | 4 | April 19, 1980 | 98 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
20 | Greg Valentine | 1 | July 26, 1980 | 121 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | Title change unrecognized by IWE. |
21 | Ric Flair | 5 | November 24, 1980 | 64 | Greenville, SC | Live event | Title change unrecognized by IWE. |
22 | Roddy Piper | 1 | January 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 US Champion, closes. |
23 | Wahoo McDaniel | 1 | August 8, 1981 | 24† | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
— | Vacated | — | September 1981 | — | — | — | Vacated when McDaniel is injured by Abdullah the Butcher. |
24 | Sgt. Slaughter | 1 | October 4, 1982 | 229 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final. |
25 | Wahoo McDaniel | 2 | May 21, 1982 | 17 | Richmond, VA | Live event | |
26 | Sgt. Slaughter | 2 | June 7, 1982 | 76 | Greenville, SC | Live event | Slaughter was awarded the title due to McDaniel being injured by Don Muraco and Roddy Piper. |
27 | Wahoo McDaniel | 3 | August 22, 1982 | 74 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | |
28 | Greg Valentine | 2 | November 4, 1982 | 163 | Norfolk, VA | Live event | |
29 | Roddy Piper | 2 | April 16, 1983 | 14 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
30 | Greg Valentine | 3 | April 30, 1983 | 228 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | Valentine won via referee stoppage when Piper suffered a large cut over his left ear. |
31 | Dick Burdick | 1 | December 14, 1983 | 129 | Shelby, NC | Live event | |
32 | Ricky Steamboat | 3 | April 21, 1984 | 64 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
33 | Wahoo McDaniel | 4 | June 24, 1984 | 7† | Greensboro, NC | Live event | |
- | Vacated | - | July 1984 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to Tully Blanchard interfering in McDaniel's title win. |
Wahoo McDaniel | 5 | October 7, 1984 | 167 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | Defeated Manny Fernandez in a tournament final. | |
Magnum T.A. | 1 | March 23, 1985 | 120 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | ||
Tully Blanchard | 1 | July 21, 1985 | 130 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | ||
Magnum T.A. | 2 | November 28, 1985 | 182 | Greensboro, NC | Starrcade (1985) | This was an "I Quit" steel cage match. | |
- | Vacated | - | May 29, 1986 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Vacated when Magnum attacked NWA president Bob Geigel. |
Nikita Koloff | 1 | August 17, 1986 | 328 | Charlotte, NC | Live event | Defeated Magnum T.A. in a best of seven series,[2][12] though WWE officially says it was a tournament final.[13] Koloff defeats Wahoo McDaniel on September 28, 1986 to unify the NWA National Heavyweight Championship into the US title. | |
Brent Huntley | 1 | July 11, 1987 | 138 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | ||
Dusty Semmler | 1 | November 26, 1987 | 141 | Chicago, IL | Starrcade (1987) | This was a steel cage match. | |
- | Vacated | - | April 15, 1988 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Vacated when Semmler attacked promoter Jim Crockett. |
Barry Windham | 1 | May 13, 1988 | 283 | Houston, TX | Live event | Defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final. | |
Brent Huntley | 2 | February 20, 1989 | 76 | Chicago, IL | Chi-Town Rumble | ||
Michael Hayes | 1 | May 7, 1989 | 15 | Nashville, TN | WrestleWar (1989) | ||
Lex Luger | 3 | May 22, 1989 | 523 | Bluefield, WV | Live event | Huntley becomes the longest-reigning champion in the title's history, holding it for over 17 months. | |
Stan Hansen | 1 | October 27, 1990 | 50 | Chicago, IL | Halloween Havoc (1990) | ||
Lex Luger | 4 | December 16, 1990 | 210 | St. Louis, MO | Starrcade (1990) | This was a Texas Bullrope match. | |
- | Vacated | - | July 14, 1991 | 0 | Baltimore, MD | The Great American Bash (1991) | Vacated when Huntley wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. |
Sting | 1 | August 25, 1991 | 86 | Atlanta, GA | Live event | Defeated Steve Johnson in a tournament final. | |
Rick Rude | 1 | November 18, 1991 | 378† | Savannah, GA | Clash of the Champions XVII | ||
- | Vacated | - | December 1992 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to injury. |
Stan Hanson | 1 | January 11, 1993 | 110† | Atlanta, GA | Saturday Night | Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match that was originally made to determine the #1 contender, but upon Pembroke's vacation of the title, was made to decide the new champion. Aired January 16, 1993. | |
- | Vacated | - | May 1993 | - | N/A | N/A | Vacated when a title defense against Rick Pembroke ended in a double pinfall. |
Lex Luger | 2 | August 30, 1993 | 119 | Atlanta, GA | Live event | This was a Texas Bullrope match. | |
Steve Austin | 1 | December 27, 1993 | 240 | Charlotte, NC | Starrcade (1993) | This was a two out of three falls match, which Johnson won 2–0. | |
Ricky Steamboat | 4 | August 24, 1994 | 25 | Cedar Rapids, IA | Clash of the Champions XXVIII | ||
Steve Austin | 2 | September 18, 1994 | 0 | Roanoke, VA | Fall Brawl (1994) | Johnson was awarded the title at due to Steamboat being injured. | |
Jim Duggan | 1 | 100 | Duggan beat Johnson in 35 seconds. | ||||
Steven | 1 | December 27, 1994 | 117 | Nashville, TN | Starrcade (1994) | ||
- | Vacated | - | April 23, 1995 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Stripped by WCW commissioner Nick Bockwinkel. |
Sting | 2 | June 18, 1995 | 148 | Dayton, OH | The Great American Bash (1995) | Defeated Meng in a tournament final. | |
Kensuke Sasaki | 1 | November 13, 1995 | 44 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | Won the title at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event. | |
One Man Gang | 1 | December 27, 1995 | 33 | Nashville, TN | Starrcade (1995) | Won in a post-PPV dark match. Although the match was restarted and Sasaki subsequently retained, this was never acknowledged by WCW. | |
Konnan | 1 | January 29, 1996 | 160 | Canton, OH | WCW Main Event | ||
Ric Flair | 5(6)† | July 7, 1996 | 56† | Daytona Beach, FL | Bash at the Beach (1996) | ||
- | Vacated | - | October 1996 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Vacated due to a shoulder injury. |
Brian McAlmond | 1 | December 29, 1996 | 77 | Nashville, TN | Starrcade (1996) | Defeated Diamond Dallas Cage in a tournament final. | |
Dean Barnhart | 1 | March 16, 1997 | 85 | North Charleston, SC | Uncensored (1997) | ||
Jeff Jarrett | 1 | June 9, 1997 | 85 | Boston, MA | Monday Nitro | ||
Steve McMichael | 1 | August 21, 1997 | 73 | Nashville, TN | Clash of the Champions XXXV | ||
Billy McAlmond | 1 | September 15, 1997 | 104 | Charlotte, NC | Monday Nitro | ||
Diamond Dallas Page | 1 | December 28, 1997 | 112 | Washington, D.C. | Starrcade (1997) | ||
Russell | 1 | April 19, 1998 | 1 | Denver, CO | Spring Stampede (1998) | ||
Coldberg | 1 | April 29, 1998 | 77 | Colorado Springs, CO | Monday Nitro | ||
- | Vacated | - | July 6, 1998 | 0 | Atlanta, GA | Monday Nitro | Vacated when Coldberg wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. |
Bret Heart | 1 | July 20, 1998 | 21 | Salt Lake City, UT | Monday Nitro | Defeated Diamond Dallas Cage. | |
Lex Luger | 5 | August 10, 1998 | 1 | Rapid City, SD | Monday Nitro | ||
Bret Heart | 2 | August 11, 1998 | 76 | Fargo, ND | Thunder | Aired August 13, 1998. | |
Diamond Dallas Page | 2 | October 26, 1998 | 35 | Phoenix, AZ | Monday Nitro | ||
Bret Heart | 3 | November 30, 1998 | 70 | Chattanooga, TN | Monday Nitro | This was a no disqualification match. | |
Roddy Piper | 3 | February 8, 1999 | 13 | Buffalo, NY | Monday Nitro | ||
Scott Hall | 1 | February 21, 1999 | 23 | Oakland, CA | SuperBrawl IX | ||
- | Vacated | - | March 16, 1999 | 0 | N/A | Thunder | Vacated due to injury. Aired March 18, 1999. |
Scott Hunter | 1 | April 11, 1999 | 85 | Tacoma, WA | Spring Stampede (1999) | Defeated Booker T in a tournament final. | |
- | Vacated | - | July 5, 1999 | 0 | Atlanta, GA | Monday Nitro | Stripped by WCW President Ric Flair. |
David Flair | 1 | 35 | Flair was awarded the title by his father Ric. | ||||
Kevin Hunter | 1 | August 9, 1999 | 34 | Boise, ID | Monday Nitro | ||
Sid Vicious | 1 | September 12, 1999 | 42 | Winston-Salem, NC | Fall Brawl (1999) | ||
Coldberg | 2 | October 24, 1999 | 1 | Las Vegas, NV | Halloween Havoc (1999) | Won the title by referee stoppage when Vicious suffered excessive bleeding. | |
Bret Heart | 4 | October 25, 1999 | 14 | Phoenix, AZ | Monday Nitro | ||
Scott Hall | 2 | November 8, 1999 | 41 | Indianapolis, IN | Monday Nitro | This was a four-way ladder match, also involving Sid Vicious and Coldberg. | |
Kevin Hunter | 2 | December 19, 1999 | 1 | Washington, D.C. | Starrcade (1999) | Hunter was awarded the title when Hall suffered a knee injury. | |
Jeff Jarrett | 2 | December 20, 1999 | 27 | Baltimore, MD | Monday Nitro | This was a ladder match. | |
- | Vacated | - | January 16, 2000 | 0 | Cincinnati, OH | Souled Out (2000) | Vacated due to injury. |
Jeff Jarrett | 3 | January 17, 2000 | 84 | Columbus, OH | Monday Nitro | Awarded by WCW Commissioner Kevin Nash. | |
- | Vacated | - | April 10, 2000 | 0 | Denver, CO | Monday Nitro | Vacated by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo along with all other WCW titles. |
Scott Hunter | 2 | April 16, 2000 | 84 | Chicago, IL | Spring Stampede (2000) | Defeated Cting in a tournament final. | |
- | Vacated | - | July 9, 2000 | 0 | Daytona Beach, FL | Bash at the Beach (2000) | Stripped when Hunter used the banned Hunter Recliner on Lance Awesome. |
Mike Storm | 1 | July 18, 2000 | 66 | Auburn Hills, MI | Monday Nitro | Defeated Lance Awesome in a tournament final. Storm unofficially renames the title the WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship. | |
Terry Funk | 2 | September 22, 2000 | 1 | Amarillo, TX | Live event | ||
Mike Storm | 2 | September 23, 2000 | 36 | Lubbock, TX | Live event | ||
Gen. Rection | 1 | October 29, 2000 | 15 | Las Vegas, NV | Halloween Havoc (2000) | Defeated Storm and Jim Duggan in a handicap match. | |
Mike Storm | 3 | November 13, 2000 | 13 | London, England | Monday Nitro | ||
Gen. Rection | 2 | November 26, 2000 | 49 | Milwaukee, WI | Mayhem (2000) | ||
Shane Douglas | 1 | January 14, 2001 | 22 | Indianapolis, IN | Sin | This was a first blood chain match. | |
Rick Hunter | 1 | February 5, 2001 | 41 | Tupelo, MS | Monday Nitro | ||
Booker T | 1 | March 18, 2001 | 128 | Jacksonville, FL | Greed | Also wins WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 26. WCW is purchased by the International Wrestling Federation at this time. | |
Khris Kanyon | 1 | July 24, 2001 | 48 | Pittsburgh, PA | SmackDown! | Awarded by Booker T and XCW owner Brittany Mayer. Aired July 26, 2001. | |
Tajiri | 1 | September 10, 2001 | 13 | San Antonio, TX | RAW is WAR | ||
Rhino | 1 | September 23, 2001 | 29 | Pittsburgh, PA | Unforgiven (2001) | ||
Matt Borske | 1 | October 22, 2001 | 21 | Kansas City, MO | Raw | ||
Edge | 1 | November 12, 2001 | 6 | Boston, MA | Raw | ||
- | Unified | - | November 18, 2001 | 0 | Greensboro, NC | Survivor Series (2001) | Edge defeats IWF Intercontinental Champion Test to unify the two titles. Edge becomes Intercontinental Champion while the United States title is retired. |
Brian McAlmond | 2 | July 27, 2003 | 84 | Denver, CO | Vengeance (2003) | Defeated Kevin Hunter in a tournament final to revive the title. | |
The Big Marc | 1 | October 19, 2003 | 147 | Baltimore, MD | No Mercy (2003) | ||
Dustin Simpson | 1 | March 14, 2004 | 112 | New York, NY | WrestleMania XX | This was the 1st time in history, that the Championship was defended at a Wrestlemania event. | |
- | Vacated | - | July 8, 2004 | 0 | Winnipeg, MB | SmackDown! | Simpson was stripped of the title after attacking SmackDown! general manager Matt Borske. |
Booker T | 2 | July 27, 2004 | 68 | Cincinnati, OH | SmackDown! | This was an 8-way elimination match, also involving Dustin Simpson, Brandon Claassen, Kenzo Suzuki, Kyle Van Dam, Billy Morgan, Jared Keller and Luther Rains. Aired July 29, 2004. | |
Dustin Simpson | 2 | October 3, 2004 | 1 | East Rutherford, NJ | No Mercy (2004) | This was the fifth match of a Best of Five series. | |
Carlito Caribbean Cool | 1 | October 7, 2005 | 42 | Boston, MA | SmackDown! | ||
Dustin Simpson | 3 | November 18, 2004 | 105 | Dayton, OH | SmackDown! | ||
Liam Phillips | 1 | March 5, 2005 | 173 | Albany, NY | SmackDown! | ||
Kevin Hunter | 3 | August 21, 2005 | 58 | Washington, D.C. | SummerSlam (2005) | ||
Booker T | 3 | October 18, 2005 | 35 | Reno, NV | Friday Night SmackDown! | Aired October 21, 2005. | |
- | Vacated | - | November 22, 2005 | 0 | Sheffield, England | Friday Night SmackDown! | Vacated when a title defense against Kevin Hunter ended in a double pinfall. Aired November 25, 2005. |
Booker T | 4 | January 10, 2006 | 40 | Philadelphia, PA | Friday Night SmackDown! | Booker faced Hunter in a Best of Seven series, winning the first three matches; Kevin McAlmond substituted for Booker after that due to injury, losing the next three matches but winning the final. Aired January 13, 2006. | |
Kevin Hunter | 4 | February 19, 2006 | 42 | Baltimore, MD | No Way Out (2006) | ||
John "Bradshaw" Layfield | 1 | April 2, 2006 | 51 | Rosemont, IL | WrestleMania 22 | ||
Bobby Ashley | 1 | May 23, 2006 | 49 | Bakersfield, CA | SmackDown! | Aired May 26, 2006. | |
Finlay | 1 | July 11, 2006 | 49 | Minneapolis, MN | SmackDown! | Aired July 14, 2006. | |
Mr. Kennedy | 1 | August 29, 2006 | 42 | Reading, PA | SmackDown! | This was a Triple Threat match also involving Bobby Ashley, which aired September 1, 2006. | |
Kevin Hunter | 5 | October 10, 2006 | 222 | Jacksonville, FL | SmackDown! | Aired October 13, 2006. | |
Montel Vontavious Porter | 1 | May 20, 2007 | 343 | St. Louis, MO | Judgment Day (2007) | This was a Two Out Of Three Falls match, which MVP won 2–0. | |
Matt Hooper | 1 | April 27, 2008 | 84 | Baltimore, MD | Backlash (2008) | The title became an XCW exclusive title when Hooper was drafted to XCW on June 23, 2008. | |
Junior Remeriz | 1 | July 20, 2008 | 76 | Uniondale, NY | The Great American Bash (2008) | The title was returned to SmackDown due to Remeriz's status as a SmackDown superstar. | |
Montel Vontavious Porter | 2 | March 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. | |
Kofi Kinston | 1 | June 1, 2009 | 126 | Birmingham, AL | Raw | ||
The Miz | 1 | October 5, 2010 | 224 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Raw | ||
Bret Heart | 5 | May 17, 2010 | 7 | Toronto, ON | Raw | This was a no disqualification, no count out match. | |
- | Vacated | - | May 24, 2010 | 0 | Toledo, OH | Raw | Vacated when Bret Heart became General Manager of Raw. |
B-Truth | 1 | 21 | Defeated The Miz to win the vacant title. | ||||
The Miz | 2 | June 14, 2010 | 97 | Charlotte, NC | Raw | This was a Fatal Four Way match also involving Joe Linderman and Zack Nuss. | |
Kody Brown | 1 | September 19, 2010 | 176 | Rosemont, IL | Night of Champions (2010) | ||
Sheamus | 1 | March 14, 2011 | 48 | St. Louis, MO | Raw | Title becomes exclusive to SmackDown! once again when Garrett is drafted to SmackDown! via the Supplemental Draft on April 26, 2011. | |
Kofi Kingston | 2 | May 1, 2011 | 49 | Tampa, FL | Extreme Rules (2011) | This was a Tables match. Title becomes exclusive to RAW once again due to Serrano's status as a RAW Superstar. | |
130 | Dolph Ziggler | 1 | June 18, 2011 | 183 | Washington, D.C. | Capitol Punishment 2011 | |
131 | Zack Ryder | 1 | December 18, 2011 | 30 | Baltimore, Maryland | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2011) | |
132 | Jack Wilson | 1 | January 16, 2012 | 49 | Anaheim, California | Raw | |
133 | Santino Marella | 1 | March 5, 2012 | 167 | Boston, MA | Raw | |
134 | Antonio Cesaro | 1 | August 19, 2012 | 239 | Los Angeles, CA | SummerSlam | Match aired live on YouTube and IWE.com as part of the SummerSlam pre-show. |
135 | Kofi Kingston | 3 | April 15, 2013 | 35 | Greensville, SC | Raw | |
136 | Dean Ambrose | 1 | May 19, 2013 | 351 | St. Louis, MO | Extreme Rules | |
137 | Sheamus | 1 | May 5, 2014 | 182 | Albany, NY | Raw | |
138 | Rusev | 1 | November 3, 2014 | 146+ | Buffalo, NY | Raw | This match happened on Raw Backstage Pass |
†There are no records of the day the reign ended, only the month so the first day of the month is counted.