List of IWE United States Champions

From Iwe

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Revision as of 09:03, 19 December 2011

[File:Nick Kessler 2011 United States Champion.jpg|thumb|Nick Kessler during his reign as United States Champion.]] 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.

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