IWE United States Championship
From Iwe
| IWE United States Championship | |
| The current IWE United States Championship belt (2014–present) | |
| Details | |
| Promotion | IWE |
| Brand | Raw |
| Date established | January 1, 1975 |
| Current champion(s) | Samoa Simpson |
| Date won | March 5, 2019 |
| Other name(s) | |
| |
| Statistics | |
The IWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional Wrestling Promotion IWE on the Raw brand. Along with the IWE Intercontinental Championship on the SmackDown brand, it is one of the two secondary titles of the promotion. The title is currently held by Samoa Simpson in his first reign.
The championship was established as the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship on January 1, 1975, for the regional territory, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, later known as Jim Crockett Promotions and then World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which eventually seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Harley Race was the inaugural champion. This makes the United States Championship the only active championship in WWE that was not originated in the promotion, as well as IWE's second oldest active championship, behind the IWE Championship (1963).
After WCW was purchased by the then-International Wrestling Federation (IWF) in 2001, the then-WCW United States Championship was defended in the IWF until it was unified with the Intercontinental Championship at that year's Survivor Series. After the 2002 brand extension and the promotion being renamed to IWE, the championship was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship in July 2003 as a secondary title of the SmackDown brand. The title has switched between brands over the years as a result of the IWE draft; the 2017 Superstar Shake-up moved the title back to SmackDown.
Contents |
History
Brand designation
Following the revival of the United States Championship in 2003, the title was designated to SmackDown!. The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the United States Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands. The brand extension was temporarily discontinued from August 29, 2011 to July 17, 2016, and it is currently unknown whether the championship will be exclusive to Raw or Smackdown.
| Colors | |
| Championship moved to the Raw brand. | |
| Championship moved to the SmackDown! brand. | |
| Championship moved to the XCW brand. | |
| Date of transition | Brand | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| July 27, 2003 | SmackDown | The United States championship was revived to be exclusive to SmackDown!. |
| June 23, 2008 | ECW | Matt Hooper was drafted to XCW, taking the championship to that brand. |
| July 20, 2008 | SmackDown | The United States championship was returned to SmackDown following Shelton Benjamin's title win. |
| April 13, 2009 | Raw | United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter was drafted to Raw during the 2009 IWE Draft. |
| April 26, 2011 | SmackDown | Following the 2011 IWE Supplemental Draft, the United States Champion at the time, Sheamus, is drafted to SmackDown and brings the title to the brand. |
| May 1, 2011 | Raw | The United States championship was returned to Raw following Kofi Kingston's title win. The title remains with Raw until the temporary discontinuation of the brands on August 29, 2011. |
| August 29, 2011 | N/A | End of first brand extension. The United States Champion could appear on both Raw and SmackDown. |
| July 19, 2016 | Raw | Reintroduction of the brand extension. United States Champion Rusev was drafted to Raw in the 2016 WWE Draft |
| April 11, 2017 | SmackDown | Following the 2017 IWE Superstar Shake-Up, United States Champion Kevin Owens moved to SmackDown. |
| April 16, 2018 | Raw | Following the 2018 IWE Superstar Shake-up, United States Champion Jinder Mahal moved to Raw. |
| April 17, 2018 | SmackDown | A day after defeating Mahal for the United States Championship, Josh Hooper moved to SmackDown. |
| April 22, 2019 | Raw | Following the 2019 IWE Superstar Shake-up, United States Champion Samoa Simpson moved to Raw. |
Reigns
- Main article: List of IWE United States Champions
