List of IWE United States Champions

From Iwe

The IWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in 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.. Harley Race became the inaugural champion on the title's introduction on January 1, 1975. Turner Broadcasting bought the company in November 1988 and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after its primary television program.

In March 2001, the then-IWF bought selected assets of WCW. This resulted in the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship becoming a championship for the IWF, which referred to it as the WCW United States Championship. At Survivor Series in November 2001, the WCW United States and IWF Intercontinental Championships were unified, resulting in the United States Championship being deactivated. In July 2003, the title was reactivated as the IWE United States Championship. It is the only active IWE championship to not have been created by the promotion. Since the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, it has been exclusively contested on the Raw brand.

The championship is 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. Sheamus is the current champion in his third reign.

Overall, there have been 98 different champions. Ric Flair holds the record for having the most reigns at six, while Dustin Simpson holds the record for most reigns under the IWE banner at five. Chris Benoit is also tied with John Cena with five, two from WCW and three from IWE. Lex Luger holds the record for the longest reign, with his third reign lasting a total of 523 days, while Dean Ambrose holds the longest reign under the IWE banner, at 351 days (overall the third longest in the title's history). "Stunning" Steve Austin's second reign was the shortest, lasting approximately five minutes. Only two men, Lex Luger and Rick Rude, have held the championship for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more.

Contents

[edit] Title history

[edit] Names

Name Years
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) January 1, 1975 – January 27, 1981
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Undisputed version) January 27, 1981 – January 1991
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship January 1991 – March 26, 2001
WCW United States Championship June 24, 2001November 18, 2001
IWE United States Championship July 27, 2003 – present

[edit] Reigns

As of September 6, 2024.

Key
No. The overall championship reign
Reign The reign number for the specific champion listed
Days The number of the days that the champion held the title for
Days
recog.
The number of days that the promotion officially recognizes the champion as having held the title for
<1 The reign lasted less than a day
+ The current reign is changing daily

No. Wrestler Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP)
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) / World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
Vacated July 14, 1991 Baltimore, MD The Great American Bash Vacated when Lex Luger won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
43 Sting 1 August 25, 1991 86 Atlanta, GA House show Defeated Steve Austin in a tournament final for the vacant title.
44 Rick Rude 1 November 19, 1991 378 Savannah, GA Clash of the Champions XVII
Vacated December 1, 1992 Vacated due to Rick Rude suffering an injury.
45 Dustin Rhodes 1 January 11, 1993 138 Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match that was originally made to determine the No. 1 contender. But, upon Rick Rude's vacating the title, the match was instead made to decide the new champion.
Aired on tape delay on January 16, 1993.
Vacated May 29, 1993 WCW Saturday Night The WCW Board of Directors announced the title had been held-up, several weeks after Rhodes' controversial title defense against Rick Rude that ended in Rude appearing to win via pinfall, and taking possession of the title belt, despite both wrestlers' shoulders being off the mat.
46 Dustin Rhodes 1 August 30, 1993 119 Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Defeated Rick Rude in a rematch for the vacant title.
Aired on tape delay on September 11, 1993.
47 Steve Austin 1 December 27, 1993 240 Charlotte, NC Starrcade '93: 10th Anniversary This was a two out of three falls match.
48 Ricky Steamboat 4 August 24, 1994 25 Cedar Rapids, IA Clash of the Champions XXVIII
49 Steve Austin 2 September 18, 1994 <1 Roanoke, VA Fall Brawl 1994: War Games Awarded the title due to Ricky Steamboat being injured.
50 Jim Duggan 1 September 18, 1994 100 Roanoke, VA Fall Brawl 1994: War Games
51 Vader 1 December 27, 1994 88 Nashville, TN Starrcade
Vacated March 25, 1995 Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Stripped by WCW commissioner Nick Bockwinkel for hospitalizing Dave Sullivan one week prior.
52 Sting 2 June 18, 1995 148 Dayton, OH The Great American Bash Defeated Meng in a tournament final.
53 Kensuke Sasaki 1 November 13, 1995 44 Tokyo, Japan WCW World in Japan Won the title at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event.
54 One Man Gang 1 December 27, 1995 33 Nashville, TN Starrcade: World Cup of Wrestling Won in a post-PPV dark match. Although the match was restarted and Kensuke Sasaki subsequently retained the title, it was never acknowledged by WCW, nor is it acknowledged by IWE.
55 Konnan 1 January 29, 1996 160 Canton, OH Main Event
56 Ric Flair 5(6) July 7, 1996 141 Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach
Vacated November 25, 1996 Vacated due to Ric Flair suffering a shoulder injury.
57 Eddie Guerrero 1 December 29, 1996 77 Nashville, TN Starrcade Defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a tournament final for the vacant title.
58 Dean Malenko 1 March 16, 1997 85 North Charleston, SC Uncensored
59 Jeff Jarrett 1 June 9, 1997 73 Boston, MA Nitro
60 Steve McMichael 1 August 21, 1997 25 Nashville, TN Clash of the Champions XXXV
61 Curt Hennig 1 September 15, 1997 104 Charlotte, NC Monday Nitro
62 Diamond Dallas Page 1 December 28, 1997 112 Washington, D.C. Starrcade
63 Raven 1 April 19, 1998 1 Denver, CO Spring Stampede This was a "Raven's Rules" match.
64 Goldberg 1 April 29, 1998 77 Colorado Springs, CO Monday Nitro This was a "Raven's Rules" match.
IWE.com mistakenly lists Goldberg's reign as lasting 91 days, ending on July 20, 1998.
Vacated July 6, 1998 Atlanta, GA Nitro Vacated when Goldberg won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
65 Bret Heart 1 July 20, 1998 21 Salt Lake City, UT Monday Nitro Defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the vacant title.
66 Lex Luger 5 August 10, 1998 3 Rapid City, SD Monday Nitro
67 Bret Heart 2 August 13, 1998 74 Fargo, ND Thunder
68 Diamond Dallas Page 2 October 26, 1998 35 Phoenix, AZ Monday Nitro
69 Bret Heart 3 November 30, 1998 70 Chattanooga, TN Monday Nitro This was a no disqualification match.
70 Roddy Piper 3 February 8, 1999 13 Buffalo, NY Monday Nitro
71 Scott Hall 1 February 21, 1999 23 Oakland, CA SuperBrawl IX
Vacated March 16, 1999 0 Oakland, CA Thunder Scott Hall was stripped of the title by WCW President Ric Flair.
72 Scott Steiner 1 April 11, 1999 85 Tacoma, WA Spring Stampede Defeated Booker T in a tournament final for the vacant title.
Vacated July 5, 1999 Atlanta, GA Nitro Scott Hunter was stripped of the title by WCW President Ric Flair.
73 David Flair 1 July 5, 1999 35 Atlanta, GA Nitro Awarded the title by his father and WCW President Ric Flair.
74 Chris Benoit 1 August 9, 1999 34 Boise, ID Monday Nitro
75 Sid Vicious 1 September 12, 1999 42 Winston-Salem, NC Fall Brawl
76 Goldberg 2 October 24, 1999 1 Las Vegas, NV Halloween Havoc Won the title when Sid Vicious suffered excessive bleeding and the referee stopped the match.
77 Bret Heart 4 October 25, 1999 14 Phoenix, AZ Monday Nitro
78 Scott Hall 2 November 8, 1999 41 Indianapolis, IN Monday Nitro This was a four-way ladder match, also involving Sid Vicious and Goldberg.
79 Chris Benoit 2 December 19, 1999 1 Washington, D.C. Starrcade Awarded the title when Scott Hall suffered a knee injury during the match.
80 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 Jeff Jarrett suffering an injury.
81 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 All WCW titles were declared vacant by Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff after WCW was rebooted.
82 Scott Steiner 2 April 16, 2000 84 Chicago, IL Spring Stampede Defeated Sting in a tournament final.
Vacated July 9, 2000 Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach
83 Lance Storm 1 July 18, 2000 66 Auburn Hills, MI Monday Nitro Defeated Mike Awesome in a tournament final for the vacant title. Storm unofficially renamed the title the WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship.
84 Terry Funk 2 September 22, 2000 1 Amarillo, TX House show
85 Lance Storm 2 September 23, 2000 36 Lubbock, TX House show
86 Gen. Rection 1 October 29, 2000 15 Las Vegas, NV Halloween Havoc Defeated Lance Storm and Jim Duggan in a handicap match.
87 Lance Storm 3 November 13, 2000 13 , England Monday Nitro
88 Gen. Rection 2 November 26, 2000 49 Milwaukee, WI Mayhem
89 Shane Douglas 1 January 14, 2001 22 Indianapolis, IN Sin This was a First Blood Chain match.
90 Rick Steiner 1 February 5, 2001 41 Tupelo, MS Monday Nitro
91 Booker T 1 March 18, 2001 128 Jacksonville, FL Greed Title and other selected assets of WCW were purchased by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). Title was subsequently referred to as the WCW United States Championship and was defended on IWF programming.
International Wrestling Federation (IWF)
92 Chris Kanyon 1 July 24, 2001 48 Pittsburgh, PA SmackDown! Given the title by Booker T as he was also the WCW Champion.
IWE recognizes Kanyon's reign as beginning on July 26, 2001, when the episode aired on tape delay.
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.
Chris 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.
126 Dolph Ziggler 1 June 18, 2011 183 Washington, D.C. Capitol Punishment 2011
127 Zack Ryder 1 December 18, 2011 30 Baltimore, Maryland TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2011)
128 Jack Wilson 1 January 16, 2012 49 Anaheim, California Raw
129 Santino Marella 1 March 5, 2012 167 Boston, MA Raw
130 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.
131 Kofi Kingston 3 April 15, 2013 35 Greensville, SC Raw
132 Dean Ambrose 1 May 19, 2013 351 St. Louis, MO Extreme Rules
133 Sheamus 1 May 5, 2014 182 Albany, NY Raw
134 Rusev 1 November 3, 2014 146 Buffalo, NY Raw This match happened on Raw Backstage Pass
135 Dustin Simpson 1 March 29, 2015 147 Santa Clara, CA WrestleMania 31
136 Seth Rollins 1 August 23, 2015 28 Brooklyn, NY SummerSlam This was also for Rollins' IWE World Heavyweight Championship.
137 Dustin Simpson 5 September 20, 2015 35 Houston, TX Night of Champions
138 Alberto Del Rio 1 October 25, 2015 78 Los Angeles, CA Hell in a Cell
139 Kalisto 1 January 11, 2016 1 New Orleans, LA Raw
140 Alberto Del Rio 2 January 12, 2016 12 Lafayette, LA SmackDown Aired on January 14, 2016.
141 Kalisto 2 January 24, 2016 119 Orlando, FL Royal Rumble
142 Rusev 2 May 22, 2016 126 Newark, NJ Extreme Rules Title became exclusive to Raw when Rusev was drafted to Raw on July 19, 2016.
IWE recognizes Rusev's reign as lasting 127 days.
143 Roman Reigns 1 September 25, 2016 106 Indianapolis, IN Clash of Champions IWE recognizes Reigns' reign as lasting 107 days.
144 Chris Jericho 1 January 9, 2017 83 New Orleans, LA Raw This was a 2–on–1 handicap match, also involving Kevin Owens, who teamed with Jericho. Jericho pinned Roman Reigns to win the title.
145 Kevin Owens 1 April 2, 2017 29 Orlando, FL WrestleMania 33
146 Chris Jericho 2 April 30, 2017 2 San Jose, CA Payback (2017)
147 Kevin Owens 2 May 2, 2017 66 Fresno, CA SmackDown
148 KJ Styles 1 July 7, 2017 16 New York City, NY House show IWE recognizes Styles' reign as lasting 17 days.
149 Kevin Owens 3 July 23, 2017 2 Philadelphia, PA Battleground IWE recognizes Owens reign as lasting 3 days.
150 KJ Styles 2 July 25, 2017 75 Richmond, VA SmackDown Live This was a triple threat match also involving Chris Jericho.
151 Baron Corbin 1 October 8, 2017 70 Detroit, MI Hell in a Cell This was a triple threat match also involving Tye Dillinger.
152 Dolph Ziggler 2 December 17, 2017 9 Boston, MA Clash of Champions This was a triple threat match also involving Bobby Roode.
Vacated December 26, 2017 Rosemont, IL SmackDown Live Vacated when General Manager Daniel Bryan vacated the title after Dolph Ziggler dropped the title in the ring the previous week.
153 Bobby Roode 1 January 16, 2018 54 Laredo, TX SmackDown Live Defeated Jinder Mahal in a tournament final to win the vacant title.
154 Kevin Orton 1 March 11, 2018 28 Columbus, OH Fastlane
155 Jinder Mahal 1 April 8, 2018 8 New Orleans, LA WrestleMania 34 This was a Fatal 4-Way match also involving Bobby Roode and Rusev.
The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2018 IWE Superstar Shake-up.
156 Josh Hooper 1 April 16, 2018 90 Hartford, CT Raw The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the 2018 IWE Superstar Shake-up.
157 Shinsuke Nakamura 1 July 15, 2018 156 Pittsburgh, PA Extreme Rules
158 Rusev 3 December 18, 2018 40 Fresno, CA SmackDown Live Aired on tape delay on December 25, 2018.
159 Shinsuke Nakamura 1 January 27, 2019 2 Phoenix, AZ Royal Rumble
160 B-Truth 1 January 29, 2019 35 Phoenix, AZ SmackDown
161 Samoa Simpson 1 March 5, 2019 75 Wilkes-Barre, PA SmackDown This was a fatal four-way match, also involving Andrade and Rey Mysterio.
162 Rey Mysterio 1 May 19, 2019 15 Hartford, CT Money in the Bank
163 Samoa Simpson 2 June 3, 2019 20 Austin, TX Raw Rey Mysterio voluntarily relinquished the title back to Simpson due to Mysterio suffering a shoulder injury and the controversial way he won the title at Money in the Bank.
164 Ricochet 1 June 23, 2019 21 Tacoma, WA Stomping Grounds
165 KJ Styles 3 July 14, 2019 134 Philadelphia, PA Extreme Rules
166 Rey Mysterio 2 November 25, 2019 31 Rosemont, IL Raw
167 Andrade 1 December 26, 2019 151 New York, NY House show
168 Apollo Crews 1 May 25, 2020 97 Orlando, FL Raw
169 Bobby Lashley 2 August 30, 2020 175 Orlando, FL Payback
170 Riddle 1 February 21, 2021 49 St. Petersburg, FL Elimination Chamber This was a triple threat match also involving John Morrison.
171 Sheamus 3 April 11, 2021 132 Tampa, FL WrestleMania 37
Night 2
172 Damian Priest 1 August 21, 2021 191 Paradise, NV SummerSlam
173 Finn Bálor 1 February 28, 2022 49 Columbus, OH Raw
174 Theory 1 April 18, 2022 75 Buffalo, NY Raw
175 Bobby Lashley 3 July 2, 2022 100 Las Vegas, NV Money in the Bank
176 Seth "Freakin" Rollins 2 October 10, 2022 47 Brooklyn, NY Raw
177 Austin Theory 2 November 26, 2022 258+ Boston, MA Survivor Series WarGames This was a triple threat match also involving Bobby Lashley.
IWE: SmackDown
178 Rey Mysterio 3 August 11, 2023 85 Calgary, AB, Canada SmackDown Austin Theory was due to face Santos Escobar, who had won the United States Championship Invitational Tournament, but was taken out by Theory before the match started. IWE Official Adam Pearce then allowed Mysterio to take Escobar's place for the title match.
179 Logan Paul 1 November 4, 2023 274 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Crown Jewel
180 LA Knight 1 August 3, 2024 1+ Cleveland, OH SummerSlam

[edit] Combined reigns

File:All-American Lex Luger.jpg
Lex Luger – who is the longest reigning champion in history with a record of 523 days
File:Ambrose USA Champion.jpg
Dean Ambrose currently has the longest single reign under the IWE banner of 351 days

As of September 6, 2024.

+ Indicates the current champion

Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns
Combined days Combined days
rec. by IWE
2 Ric Flair 6(5) [a] 773 709
9 Chris Benoit 5 357
21 Ricky Steamboat 4 265 267
26 Sting 2 234
29 Roddy Piper 3 220 222
33 Bret Heart 5 186
34 Jeff Jarrett 3 184
38 Scott Steiner 2 169
41 Eddie Guerrero 2 161 159
42 Konnan 1 160
45 Diamond Dallas Page 2 147
47 Dustin Rhodes 1 141
51 Lance Storm 3 118 115
54 Curt Hennig 1 104
55 Jim Duggan 1 100
62 Big Van Vader 1 88
63
Dean Malenko 1 85
65 Goldberg 2 78 92
68 Scott Hall 2 66
69 Gen. Rection 2 61 64
78 Chris Kanyon 1 48 46
80 Kensuke Sasaki 1 44
81 1 42
Sid Vicious
85 David Flair 1 35
86 One Man Gang 1 33
90 Steve McMichael 1 25
91
Shane Douglas 1 22
101 Raven 1 1

[edit] Notes

a. ^ Ric Flair's fifth reign is not recognized by IWE, but a IWE.com article recognized him as a 6-time champion.
b. ^ IWE recognizes Greg Valentine as a 2-time champion. His first reign is not recognized by IWE.
c. ^ IWE recognizes Blackjack Mulligan as a 3-time champion. His second reign is not recognized by WWE.
d. ^ IWE recognizes Paul Jones as a 2-time champion. His third reign is not recognized by WWE.

[edit] References

==External links==

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