The United States Championship was created in 1975 and it became WCW’s property in 1991 until 2001, when WWE purchased WCW. The US title is one of the most significant titles in wrestling and it was brought back permanently in 2003. This championship is the equivalent of the Intercontinental Championship and has had some notable title holders. There have been many notable United States Championship runs in the company. Some of the champions held the title for a longer time.
10) Sheamus – 182 Days
Sheamus became a two-time United States Champion in 2014 and ended Dean Ambrose’s title run in Battle Royal on an episode of Raw. “The Celtic Warrior” had to face superstars like Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro and The Miz during his United Championship reign. His 182-day run was eventually interrupted by the Invincible Rusev at the Raw Backstage Pass after Raw went off the air.
9) Damian Priest – 191 Days
Damian Priest was set for a great 2021 after teaming with Bad Bunny at WrestleMania 37. He ended Sheamus’ United States Championship at SummerSlam and went on to have a great reign. However, “The Archer of Infamy” defended the title only once at a premium live event. He beat Sheamus and Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules. Additionally, Priest scored some amazing wins over Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Apollo Crews and AJ Styles. However, his future Judgement Day partner, Finn Balor, ended his reign on one of the editions of Raw in February 2022.
8) Logan Paul – 194 days and counting
Logan Paul called out Rey Mysterio on October 20, 2023, on an episode of SmackDown and got a title match at Crown Jewel. Ultimately, The Maverick defeated Mysterio and won the United States championship. He has had some exciting matches against superstars like Kevin Owens and Randy Orton till now and has successfully defended his title at WrestleMania 40. Now Paul is scheduled to face Undisputed champion Cody Rhodes in a Champion vs. Champion match.
7) Chris Benoit – 219 Days
Chris Benoit is a multiple-time United States champion in WCW and WWE. When Benoit won the US title for the third time under the WWE banner, he held the championship for 219 days. His championship reign was ended by MVP in a “Two-out-of-Three Falls” match at Judgement Day 2007.
6) The Miz – 224 Days
The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston to win his first singles title in the form of the US championship in WWE. Along the way, he became the Unified WWE Tag Team Champion with Big Show in 2010. Miz held the title for 224 days and even defeated MVP at back-to-back premium live events. He had dual responsibilities in the singles and tag team competitions. He lost the United States championship to Bret Hart on an edition of Raw in 2010.
5) Cesaro – 240 Days
Cesaro was the one who ended Santino Marella’s terrible United States Championship reign at the SummerSlam 2012. He brought some prestige back to the US title with consecutive title defenses. Some of you might not know, but the US Championship was the only singles title that Cesaro won in his decade-long tenure with WWE. Ultimately, Kofi Kingston defeated Cesaro on Raw in April 2013 and ended his run.
4) Shelton Benjamin – 243 Days
Shelton Benjamin is a three-time Intercontinental Champion and he also won the United States title. During his title reign, Benjamin made only a solo defense at a premium live event against R-Truth at Cyber Sunday 2008. Despite Benjamin holding the title for 243 days, it was not a strong title run, going three months without a title defense. Eventually, MVP snatched the US Championship from him in 2009 on SmackDown.
3) Austin Theory – 243 Days
Theory won the US title for the second time in 2022 after winning the triple threat involving Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley. Although Theory is the youngest United States champion in WWE history, his second title reign was quite disappointing. He successfully retained the title at the Elimination Chamber and beat John Cena at WrestleMania 39. However, Theory failed to advance after this. His 257-day run as the WWE United States Champion was cut short by Rey Mysterio.
2) MVP – 343 Days
MVP was an incredible heel in the WWE and he also had a fantastic run as the WWE United States Champion. He held the US title for 343 days and defeated legends like Ric Flair, Matt Hardy and Batista. He became a double champion during his United States title reign as he teamed up with his rival Matt Hardy and together they became WWE Tag Team Champions. Interestingly, it was Matt Hardy who ended MVP’s remarkable US title run at Backlash 2008.
1) Dean Ambrose – 351 Days
Dean Ambrose not only had the longest United States reign, but he was also the first member of The Shield to add a championship to the faction. He defeated Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules in 2013 to win the title. His US title reign lasted 351 days, but actually, the reign wasn’t that good. Because of his involvement in The Shield and competing in high-profile six-man tag team matches, the United States was not considered much. It was Sheamus who ended Lunatic Fringe’s US title reign in a 20-man battle royal.
