The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested in the American promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It was originally known as the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and began as a regional championship created by and defended in Jim Crockett Jr.'s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Harley Race became the inaugural champion on the title's introduction on December 31, 1974. Turner Broadcasting bought Mid-Atlantic in November 1988 and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after its primary television program.

In March 2001, the then-WWF bought selected assets of WCW. This resulted in the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship becoming a championship for the WWF, which referred to it as the WCW United States Championship. At Survivor Series in November 2001, the WCW United States and WWF Intercontinental Championships were unified, resulting in the United States Championship being deactivated. In July 2003, the title was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship. It is the only active WWE championship not created by the promotion. As of the 2023 WWE Draft, it is exclusive to the SmackDown 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. Trick Williams is the current champion in his second reign. He won the title by defeating Baron Corbin at Sunday Night's Main Event on September 6, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Overall, there have been 191 reigns among 109 different champions. Ric Flair holds the record for having the most reigns at six, while John Cena holds the record for most reigns under the WWE banner at five. Lex Luger holds the longest reign, with his third reign lasting 523 days, while Dean Ambrose holds the longest reign under the WWE 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 have held the title for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more: Lex Luger and Rick Rude. Eddie Guerrero, Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, and Booker T are the only wrestlers to have held the championship in both its WCW and WWE incarnations.

Title history Names NameYearsNWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)December 31, 1974 – January 27, 1981NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Undisputed version)January 27, 1981 – January 1991WCW United States Heavyweight ChampionshipJanuary 1991 – March 26, 2001WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship (unofficially)July 18, 2000 – October 29, 2000WCW United States ChampionshipJune 24, 2001 – November 18, 2001WWE United States ChampionshipJuly 27, 2003 – present

Reigns

Combined reigns

As of , .

† Indicates the current champion RankWrestlerNo. ofreignsCombineddaysCombined days by WWE1 5 9502 5 773 7043 3 5094 5 426 5 2 4196 2 512 3907 1 3788 3 3629 5 35710 1 35111 2 333 33112 1 328 32713 3 324 32314 2 321 31915 3 312 30316 2 305 30317 2 302 27218 5 296 29519 1 283 28220 1 27321 4 271 26222 4 265 26323 2 257 22724 3 255 26225 2 240 239 1 240 24227 1 23928 2 234 23229 1 231 23230 3 225 22431 3 220 21932 3 209 20733 2 191 189 1 19135 5 186 18136 3 184 18137 1 18338 1 176 39 1 173 17040 2 169 16741 1 167 16642 2 162 16043 2 161 15944 1 160 15945 2 156 14846 1 151 15047 2 147 145 1 147 14649 1 141 14050 † 2 +51 3 131 12952 1 130 12953 1 12954 2 120 55 3 118 11256 1 10657 2 105 10458 1 104 10359 1 100 9960 1 98 9161 1 97 9662 3 96 9563 2 95 9364 1 93 9265 2 90 89 1 90 8967 1 88 8768 2 85 84 1 85 8470 1 84 8371 2 78 9072 2 7573 2 72 7074 1 7075 2 65 6476 1 63 7077 1 6278 2 61 6279 2 56 5580 1 54 5381 1 51 5382 1 50 4983 1 49 1 49 48 1 49 48 1 4987 1 48 4588 1 44 4389 1 42 41 1 42 41 1 42 4192 1 41 4093 1 35 3494 1 33 3295 1 29 28 1 29 2897 1 28 2798 1 25 2499 1 22 21 1 22 21101 1 21 20 1 21 1 21104 2 19 18105 1 15 14106 1 13 12107 1 8108 1 6 5109 1 1 <1

Notes

References

External links Official WWE United States Championship Title History NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Title History at Wrestling-Titles.com (1975–2001) WWE United States Championship Title History at Wrestling-Titles.com (2001 – present)