WWE/WCW United States Championship
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
WWE United States Championship 2003 – present
† indicates reigns and title changes not recognized by WWE.
# Wrestler Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes
1 Harley Race 1 January 1, 1975 183 Tallahassee, FL N/A Race was awarded the title with the explanation that he defeated Johnny Weaver in a tournament final.
2 Johnny Valentine 1 July 3, 1975 93 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated 0 October 4, 1975 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Valentine suffers a career-ending injury in a plane crash.
3 Terry Funk 1 November 9, 1975 18 Greensboro, NC Live event Defeated Paul Jones in a tournament final.
4 Paul Jones 1 November 27, 1975 107 Greensboro, NC Live event
5 Blackjack Mulligan 1 March 13, 1976 217 Greensboro, NC Live event
6 Paul Jones 2 October 16, 1976 43 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Blackjack Mulligan 1(2)† November 28, 1976 11 Charlotte, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
- Paul Jones 2(3)† December 9, 1976 6 Winston-Salem, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
7 Blackjack Mulligan 2(3)† December 15, 1976 204 Raleigh, NC Live event
8 Bobo Brazil 1 July 7, 1977 22 Norfolk, VA Live event
9 Ric Flair 1 July 29, 1977 84 Richmond, VA Live event
10 Ricky Steamboat 1 October 21, 1977 72 Charleston, SC Live event
11 Blackjack Mulligan 3(4)† January 1, 1978 77 Greensboro, NC Live event
12 Mr. Wrestling 1 March 19, 1978 21 Greensboro, NC Live event
13 Ric Flair 2 April 9, 1978 265 Charlotte, NC Live event
14 Ricky Steamboat 2 December 30, 1978 92 Greensboro, NC Live event
15 Ric Flair 3 April 1, 1979 133 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated - August 12, 1979 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Flair wins the NWA World Tag Team Championship four days prior.
16 Jimmy Snuka 1 September 1, 1979 231 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final.
17 Ric Flair 4 April 19, 1980 98 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Greg Valentine 1† July 26, 1980 121 Charlotte, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
- Ric Flair 4(5)† November 24, 1980 64 Greenville, SC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
18 Roddy Piper 1 January 27, 1981 193 Raleigh, NC Live event The title becomes the undisputed NWA US Championship in January 1981 after the NWA San Francisco office, the last other promotion to recognize its own US Champion, closes.
19 Wahoo McDaniel 1 August 8, 1981 24† Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated - September 1981 0 N/A N/A Vacated when McDaniel is injured by Abdullah the Butcher.
20 Sgt. Slaughter 1 October 4, 1981 229 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final.
21 Wahoo McDaniel 2 May 21, 1982 17 Richmond, VA Live event
22 Sgt. Slaughter 2 June 7, 1982 76 Greenville, SC Live event Slaughter was awarded the title due to McDaniel being injured by Don Muraco and Roddy Piper.
23 Wahoo McDaniel 3 August 22, 1982 74 Charlotte, NC Live event
24 Greg Valentine 1(2)† November 4, 1982 163 Norfolk, VA Live event
25 Roddy Piper 2 April 16, 1983 14 Greensboro, NC Live event
26 Greg Valentine 2(3)† April 30, 1983 228 Greensboro, NC Live event Valentine won via referee stoppage when Piper suffered a large cut over his left ear.
27 Dick Slater 1 December 14, 1983 129 Shelby, NC Live event
28 Ricky Steamboat 3 April 21, 1984 64 Greensboro, NC Live event
29 Wahoo McDaniel 4 June 24, 1984 7† Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated - July 1984 0 N/A N/A Vacated due to Tully Blanchard interfering in McDaniel's title win.
30 Wahoo McDaniel 5 October 7, 1984 167 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Manny Fernandez in a tournament final.
31 Magnum T.A. 1 March 23, 1985 120 Charlotte, NC Live event
32 Tully Blanchard 1 July 21, 1985 130 Charlotte, NC Live event
33 Magnum T.A. 2 November 28, 1985 182 Greensboro, NC Starrcade This was an "I Quit" steel cage match.
- Vacated - May 29, 1986 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Magnum attacked NWA president Bob Geigel.
34 Nikita Koloff 1 August 17, 1986 328 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Magnum T.A. in a best of seven series, though WWE officially says it was a tournament final. Koloff defeats Wahoo McDaniel on September 28, 1986 to unify the NWA National Heavyweight Championship into the US title.
35 Lex Luger 1 July 11, 1987 138 Greensboro, NC Live event
36 Dusty Rhodes 1 November 26, 1987 141 Chicago, IL Starrcade This was a steel cage match
- Vacated - April 15, 1988 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Rhodes attacked promoter Jim Crockett.
37 Barry Windham 1 May 13, 1988 283 Houston, TX Live event Defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final.
38 Lex Luger 2 February 20, 1989 76 Chicago, IL Chi-Town Rumble
39 Michael Hayes 1 May 7, 1989 15 Nashville, TN WrestleWar
40 Lex Luger 3 May 22, 1989 523 Bluefield, WV Live event Luger becomes the longest-reigning champion in the title's history, holding it for over 17 months.
41 Stan Hansen 1 October 27, 1990 50 Chicago, IL Halloween Havoc
42 Lex Luger 4 December 16, 1990 210 St. Louis, MO Starrcade This was a Texas Bullrope match
- Vacated - July 14, 1991 0 Baltimore, MD The Great American Bash Vacated when Luger wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
43 Sting 1 August 25, 1991 86 Atlanta, GA Live event Defeated Steve Austin in a tournament final.
44 Rick Rude 1 November 19, 1991 378† Savannah, GA Clash of the Champions XVII
- Vacated - December 1992 0 N/A N/A Vacated due to injury.
45 Dustin Rhodes 1 January 11, 1993 110† Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match that was originally made to determine the #1 contender, but upon Rude's vacation of the title, was made to decide the new champion. Aired January 16, 1993.
- Vacated 5 May 1993 0 N/A N/A Vacated when a title defense against Rick Rude ended in a double pinfall.
46 Dustin Rhodes 2 August 30, 1993 119 Atlanta, GA Live event Defeated Rude in a rematch. WCW withdraws from the NWA in September 1993; the NWA begins to recognize its own US champion, but Rhodes remains the recognized champion in WCW.
47 Steve Austin 1 December 27, 1993 240 Charlotte, NC Starrcade This was a two out of three falls match, which Austin won 2–0.
48 Ricky Steamboat 4 August 24, 1994 25 Cedar Rapids, IA Clash of the Champions XXVIII
49 Steve Austin 2 September 18, 1994 0 Roanoke, VA Fall Brawl Austin was awarded the title at due to Steamboat being injured.
50 Jim Duggan 1 100 Duggan beat Austin in 35 seconds.
51 Big Van Vader 1 December 27, 1994 117 Nashville, TN Starrcade
- Vacated - April 23, 1995 0 N/A N/A Stripped by WCW commissioner Nick Bockwinkel.
53 Kensuke Sasaki 1 November 13, 1995 44 Tokyo, Japan Live event Won the title at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event.
54 One Man Gang 1 December 27, 1995 33 Nashville, TN Starrcade
55 Konnan 1 January 29, 1996 160 Canton, OH WCW Main Event
56 Ric Flair 5(6) July 7, 1996 56† Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach
- Vacated - September 1996 0 N/A N/A Vacated due to a shoulder injury.
57 Eddie Guerrero 1 December 29, 1996 77 Nashville, TN Starrcade Defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a tournament final.
58 Dean Malenko 1 March 16, 1997 85 North Charleston, SC Uncensored
59 Jeff Jarrett 1 June 9, 1997 73 Boston, MA Monday Nitro
60 Steve McMichael 1 August 21, 1997 25 Nashville, TN Clash of the Champions XXXV
61 Curt Henning 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
64 Goldberg 1 April 20, 1998 77 Colorado Springs, CO Monday Nitro
- Vacated - July 6, 1998 0 Atlanta, GA Monday Nitro Vacated when Goldberg wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
65 Bret Hart 1 July 20, 1998 21 Salt Lake City, UT Monday Nitro Defeated Diamond Dallas Page.
66 Lex Luger 5 August 10, 1998 1 Rapid City, SD Monday Nitro
67 Bret Hart 2 August 11, 1998 76 Fargo, ND Thunder Aired August 13, 1998.
68 Diamond Dallas Page 2 October 26, 1998 35 Phoenix, AZ Monday Nitro
69 Bret Hart 3 November 30, 1998 70 Chattanooga, TN Monday Nitro This was a no disqualification match.
70 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 N/A Thunder Vacated due to injury. Aired March 18, 1999.
72 Scott Steiner 1 April 11, 1999 85 Tacoma, WA Spring Stampede Defeated Booker T in a tournament final.
- Vacated - July 5, 1999 0 Atlanta, GA Monday Nitro Stripped by WCW President Ric Flair.
73 David Flair 1 35 Flair was awarded the title by his father Ric.
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 by referee stoppage when Vicious suffered excessive bleeding.
77 Bret Hart 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 Benoit was awarded the title when Hall suffered a knee injury.
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 Vacated due to 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 Vacated by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo along with all other WCW titles.
2 Scott Steiner 2 April 16, 2000 84 Chicago, IL Spring Stampede Defeated Sting in a tournament final.
- Vacated - July 9, 2000 0 Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach Stripped when Steiner used the banned Steiner Recliner on Mike Awesome.
83 Lance Storm 1 July 18, 2000 66 Auburn Hills, MI Monday Nitro Defeated Mike Awesome in a tournament final. Storm unofficially renames the title the WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship.
84 Terry Funk 2 September 22, 2000 1 Amarillo, TX Live event
85 Lance Storm 2 September 23, 2000 36 Lubbock, TX Live event
86 Gen. Rection 1 October 29, 2000 15 Las Vegas, NV Halloween Havoc Defeated Storm and Jim Duggan in a handicap match.
87 Lance Storm 3 November 13, 2000 13 London, 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 Also wins WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 26.
WCW is purchased by the World Wrestling Federation at this time.
92 Chris Kanyon 1 July 24, 2001 48 Pittsburgh, PA SmackDown! Awarded by Booker T and ECW owner Stephanie McMahon. Aired July 26, 2001.
93 Tajiri 1 September 10, 2001 13 San Antonio, TX RAW is WAR
94 Rhyno 1 September 23, 2001 29 Pittsburgh, PA Unforgiven
95 Kurt Angle 1 October 22, 2001 21 Kansas City, MO Raw
96 Edge 1 November 12, 2001 6 Boston, MA Raw
- Unified - November 18, 2001 0 Greensboro, NC Survivor Series Edge defeats WWF Intercontinental Champion Test to unify the two titles. Edge becomes Intercontinental Champion while the United States title is retired.
97 Eddie Guerrero 2 July 27, 2003 84 Denver, CO Vengeance Defeated Chris Benoit in a tournament final to revive the title.
98 The Big Show 1 October 19, 2003 147 Baltimore, MD No Mercy
99 John Cena 1 March 14, 2004 114 New York, NY WrestleMania XX This was the 1st time in history, that the Championship was defended at a Wrestlemania event.
- Vacated - July 6, 2004 0 Winnipeg, MB SmackDown! Cena was stripped of the title after attacking SmackDown! General Manager Kurt Angle. Aired July 8, 2004.
100 Booker T 2 July 27, 2004 68 Cincinnati, OH SmackDown! This was an 8-way elimination match, also involving John Cena, René Duprée, Kenzo Suzuki, Rob Van Dam, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas and Luther Reigns. Aired July 29, 2004.
101 John Cena 2 October 3, 2004 2 East Rutherford, NJ No Mercy This was the fifth match of a Best of Five series.
102 Carlito Caribbean Cool 1 October 5, 2004 42 Boston, MA SmackDown! Aired October 7, 2004.
103 John Cena 3 November 16, 2004 105 Dayton, OH SmackDown! Aired November 18, 2004.
104 Orlando Jordan 1 March 1, 2005 173 Albany, NY SmackDown! Aired March 3, 2005.
105 Chris Benoit 3 August 21, 2005 58 Washington, D.C. SummerSlam Famously won the match in :25.5 seconds. Benoit would go on to later face Jordan in a rematch on a future episode of SmackDown! where he proceeded to defeat Jordan in just :23.4 seconds, beating his previous record by more than :02 seconds.
106 Booker T 3 October 18, 2005 35 Reno, NV SmackDown! Aired October 21, 2005.
- Vacated - November 22, 2005 0 Sheffield, England SmackDown! Vacated when a title defense against Chris Benoit ended in a double pinfall. Aired November 25, 2005.
107 Booker T 4 January 10, 2006 40 Philadelphia, PA SmackDown! Booker faced Benoit in a Best of Seven series, winning the first three matches; Randy Orton substituted for Booker after that due to injury, losing the next three matches but winning the final. Aired January 13, 2006.
108 Chris Benoit 4 February 19, 2006 42 Baltimore, MD No Way Out
109 John "Bradshaw" Layfield 1 April 2, 2006 51 Rosemont, IL WrestleMania 22
110 Bobby Lashley 1 May 23, 2006 49 Bakersfield, CA SmackDown! Aired May 26, 2006
111 Finlay 1 July 11, 2006 49 Minneapolis, MN SmackDown! Aired July 14, 2006.
112 Mr. Kennedy 1 August 29, 2006 42 Reading, PA SmackDown! This was a Triple Threat match also involving Bobby Lashley, which aired September 1, 2006
113 Chris Benoit 5 October 10, 2006 222 Jacksonville, FL SmackDown! Aired October 13, 2006.
114 Montel Vontavious Porter 1 May 20, 2007 343 St. Louis, MO Judgment Day This was a Two Out Of Three Falls match, which MVP won 2–0.
115 Matt Hardy 1 April 27, 2008 84 Baltimore, MD Backlash The title became an ECW exclusive title when Hardy was drafted to ECW on June 23, 2008.
116 Shelton Benjamin 10 July 20, 2008 240 Uniondale, NY The Great American Bash The title was returned to SmackDown due to Benjamin's status as a SmackDown superstar.
117 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.
118 Kofi Kingston 1 June 1, 2009 126 Birmingham, AL Raw
119 The Miz 1 October 5, 2009 224 Wilkes-Barre, PA Raw
120 Bret Hart 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 Hart became General Manager of Raw.
121 R-Truth 1 21 Defeated The Miz to win the vacant title.
122 The Miz 2 June 14, 2010 97 Charlotte, NC Raw This was a Fatal Four Way match also involving John Morrison and Zack Ryder.
123 Daniel Bryan 1 September 19, 2010 176 Rosemont, IL Night of Champions
124 Sheamus 1 March 14, 2011 48 St. Louis, MO Raw Title becomes exclusive to SmackDown! once again when Sheamus is drafted to SmackDown! via the Supplemental Draft on April 26, 2011.
125 Kofi Kingston 2 May 1, 2011 49 Tampa, FL Extreme Rules This was a Tables match. Title becomes exclusive to RAW once again due to Kingston's status as a RAW Superstar.
126 Dolph Ziggler 1 June 19, 2011 182 Washington, D.C. Capitol Punishment
127 Zack Ryder 1 December 18, 2011 29 Baltimore, MD TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2011)
128 Jack Swagger 1 January 16, 2012 49 Anaheim, CA 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 WWE.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 110+ St. Louis, MO Extreme Rules
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Undisputed) January 27, 1981–1991
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship 1991–2001
WCW United States Championship 2001
WWE United States Championship 2003 – present
† indicates reigns and title changes not recognized by WWE.
# Wrestler Reign Date Days held Location Event Notes
1 Harley Race 1 January 1, 1975 183 Tallahassee, FL N/A Race was awarded the title with the explanation that he defeated Johnny Weaver in a tournament final.
2 Johnny Valentine 1 July 3, 1975 93 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated 0 October 4, 1975 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Valentine suffers a career-ending injury in a plane crash.
3 Terry Funk 1 November 9, 1975 18 Greensboro, NC Live event Defeated Paul Jones in a tournament final.
4 Paul Jones 1 November 27, 1975 107 Greensboro, NC Live event
5 Blackjack Mulligan 1 March 13, 1976 217 Greensboro, NC Live event
6 Paul Jones 2 October 16, 1976 43 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Blackjack Mulligan 1(2)† November 28, 1976 11 Charlotte, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
- Paul Jones 2(3)† December 9, 1976 6 Winston-Salem, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
7 Blackjack Mulligan 2(3)† December 15, 1976 204 Raleigh, NC Live event
8 Bobo Brazil 1 July 7, 1977 22 Norfolk, VA Live event
9 Ric Flair 1 July 29, 1977 84 Richmond, VA Live event
10 Ricky Steamboat 1 October 21, 1977 72 Charleston, SC Live event
11 Blackjack Mulligan 3(4)† January 1, 1978 77 Greensboro, NC Live event
12 Mr. Wrestling 1 March 19, 1978 21 Greensboro, NC Live event
13 Ric Flair 2 April 9, 1978 265 Charlotte, NC Live event
14 Ricky Steamboat 2 December 30, 1978 92 Greensboro, NC Live event
15 Ric Flair 3 April 1, 1979 133 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated - August 12, 1979 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Flair wins the NWA World Tag Team Championship four days prior.
16 Jimmy Snuka 1 September 1, 1979 231 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final.
17 Ric Flair 4 April 19, 1980 98 Greensboro, NC Live event
- Greg Valentine 1† July 26, 1980 121 Charlotte, NC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
- Ric Flair 4(5)† November 24, 1980 64 Greenville, SC Live event Title change unrecognized by WWE.
18 Roddy Piper 1 January 27, 1981 193 Raleigh, NC Live event The title becomes the undisputed NWA US Championship in January 1981 after the NWA San Francisco office, the last other promotion to recognize its own US Champion, closes.
19 Wahoo McDaniel 1 August 8, 1981 24† Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated - September 1981 0 N/A N/A Vacated when McDaniel is injured by Abdullah the Butcher.
20 Sgt. Slaughter 1 October 4, 1981 229 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final.
21 Wahoo McDaniel 2 May 21, 1982 17 Richmond, VA Live event
22 Sgt. Slaughter 2 June 7, 1982 76 Greenville, SC Live event Slaughter was awarded the title due to McDaniel being injured by Don Muraco and Roddy Piper.
23 Wahoo McDaniel 3 August 22, 1982 74 Charlotte, NC Live event
24 Greg Valentine 1(2)† November 4, 1982 163 Norfolk, VA Live event
25 Roddy Piper 2 April 16, 1983 14 Greensboro, NC Live event
26 Greg Valentine 2(3)† April 30, 1983 228 Greensboro, NC Live event Valentine won via referee stoppage when Piper suffered a large cut over his left ear.
27 Dick Slater 1 December 14, 1983 129 Shelby, NC Live event
28 Ricky Steamboat 3 April 21, 1984 64 Greensboro, NC Live event
29 Wahoo McDaniel 4 June 24, 1984 7† Greensboro, NC Live event
- Vacated - July 1984 0 N/A N/A Vacated due to Tully Blanchard interfering in McDaniel's title win.
30 Wahoo McDaniel 5 October 7, 1984 167 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Manny Fernandez in a tournament final.
31 Magnum T.A. 1 March 23, 1985 120 Charlotte, NC Live event
32 Tully Blanchard 1 July 21, 1985 130 Charlotte, NC Live event
33 Magnum T.A. 2 November 28, 1985 182 Greensboro, NC Starrcade This was an "I Quit" steel cage match.
- Vacated - May 29, 1986 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Magnum attacked NWA president Bob Geigel.
34 Nikita Koloff 1 August 17, 1986 328 Charlotte, NC Live event Defeated Magnum T.A. in a best of seven series, though WWE officially says it was a tournament final. Koloff defeats Wahoo McDaniel on September 28, 1986 to unify the NWA National Heavyweight Championship into the US title.
35 Lex Luger 1 July 11, 1987 138 Greensboro, NC Live event
36 Dusty Rhodes 1 November 26, 1987 141 Chicago, IL Starrcade This was a steel cage match
- Vacated - April 15, 1988 0 N/A N/A Vacated when Rhodes attacked promoter Jim Crockett.
37 Barry Windham 1 May 13, 1988 283 Houston, TX Live event Defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final.
38 Lex Luger 2 February 20, 1989 76 Chicago, IL Chi-Town Rumble
39 Michael Hayes 1 May 7, 1989 15 Nashville, TN WrestleWar
40 Lex Luger 3 May 22, 1989 523 Bluefield, WV Live event Luger becomes the longest-reigning champion in the title's history, holding it for over 17 months.
41 Stan Hansen 1 October 27, 1990 50 Chicago, IL Halloween Havoc
42 Lex Luger 4 December 16, 1990 210 St. Louis, MO Starrcade This was a Texas Bullrope match
- Vacated - July 14, 1991 0 Baltimore, MD The Great American Bash Vacated when Luger wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
43 Sting 1 August 25, 1991 86 Atlanta, GA Live event Defeated Steve Austin in a tournament final.
44 Rick Rude 1 November 19, 1991 378† Savannah, GA Clash of the Champions XVII
- Vacated - December 1992 0 N/A N/A Vacated due to injury.
45 Dustin Rhodes 1 January 11, 1993 110† Atlanta, GA Saturday Night Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a match that was originally made to determine the #1 contender, but upon Rude's vacation of the title, was made to decide the new champion. Aired January 16, 1993.
- Vacated 5 May 1993 0 N/A N/A Vacated when a title defense against Rick Rude ended in a double pinfall.
46 Dustin Rhodes 2 August 30, 1993 119 Atlanta, GA Live event Defeated Rude in a rematch. WCW withdraws from the NWA in September 1993; the NWA begins to recognize its own US champion, but Rhodes remains the recognized champion in WCW.
47 Steve Austin 1 December 27, 1993 240 Charlotte, NC Starrcade This was a two out of three falls match, which Austin won 2–0.
48 Ricky Steamboat 4 August 24, 1994 25 Cedar Rapids, IA Clash of the Champions XXVIII
49 Steve Austin 2 September 18, 1994 0 Roanoke, VA Fall Brawl Austin was awarded the title at due to Steamboat being injured.
50 Jim Duggan 1 100 Duggan beat Austin in 35 seconds.
51 Big Van Vader 1 December 27, 1994 117 Nashville, TN Starrcade
- Vacated - April 23, 1995 0 N/A N/A Stripped by WCW commissioner Nick Bockwinkel.
53 Kensuke Sasaki 1 November 13, 1995 44 Tokyo, Japan Live event Won the title at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event.
54 One Man Gang 1 December 27, 1995 33 Nashville, TN Starrcade
55 Konnan 1 January 29, 1996 160 Canton, OH WCW Main Event
56 Ric Flair 5(6) July 7, 1996 56† Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach
- Vacated - September 1996 0 N/A N/A Vacated due to a shoulder injury.
57 Eddie Guerrero 1 December 29, 1996 77 Nashville, TN Starrcade Defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a tournament final.
58 Dean Malenko 1 March 16, 1997 85 North Charleston, SC Uncensored
59 Jeff Jarrett 1 June 9, 1997 73 Boston, MA Monday Nitro
60 Steve McMichael 1 August 21, 1997 25 Nashville, TN Clash of the Champions XXXV
61 Curt Henning 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
64 Goldberg 1 April 20, 1998 77 Colorado Springs, CO Monday Nitro
- Vacated - July 6, 1998 0 Atlanta, GA Monday Nitro Vacated when Goldberg wins the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
65 Bret Hart 1 July 20, 1998 21 Salt Lake City, UT Monday Nitro Defeated Diamond Dallas Page.
66 Lex Luger 5 August 10, 1998 1 Rapid City, SD Monday Nitro
67 Bret Hart 2 August 11, 1998 76 Fargo, ND Thunder Aired August 13, 1998.
68 Diamond Dallas Page 2 October 26, 1998 35 Phoenix, AZ Monday Nitro
69 Bret Hart 3 November 30, 1998 70 Chattanooga, TN Monday Nitro This was a no disqualification match.
70 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 N/A Thunder Vacated due to injury. Aired March 18, 1999.
72 Scott Steiner 1 April 11, 1999 85 Tacoma, WA Spring Stampede Defeated Booker T in a tournament final.
- Vacated - July 5, 1999 0 Atlanta, GA Monday Nitro Stripped by WCW President Ric Flair.
73 David Flair 1 35 Flair was awarded the title by his father Ric.
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 by referee stoppage when Vicious suffered excessive bleeding.
77 Bret Hart 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 Benoit was awarded the title when Hall suffered a knee injury.
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 Vacated due to 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 Vacated by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo along with all other WCW titles.
2 Scott Steiner 2 April 16, 2000 84 Chicago, IL Spring Stampede Defeated Sting in a tournament final.
- Vacated - July 9, 2000 0 Daytona Beach, FL Bash at the Beach Stripped when Steiner used the banned Steiner Recliner on Mike Awesome.
83 Lance Storm 1 July 18, 2000 66 Auburn Hills, MI Monday Nitro Defeated Mike Awesome in a tournament final. Storm unofficially renames the title the WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship.
84 Terry Funk 2 September 22, 2000 1 Amarillo, TX Live event
85 Lance Storm 2 September 23, 2000 36 Lubbock, TX Live event
86 Gen. Rection 1 October 29, 2000 15 Las Vegas, NV Halloween Havoc Defeated Storm and Jim Duggan in a handicap match.
87 Lance Storm 3 November 13, 2000 13 London, 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 Also wins WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 26.
WCW is purchased by the World Wrestling Federation at this time.
92 Chris Kanyon 1 July 24, 2001 48 Pittsburgh, PA SmackDown! Awarded by Booker T and ECW owner Stephanie McMahon. Aired July 26, 2001.
93 Tajiri 1 September 10, 2001 13 San Antonio, TX RAW is WAR
94 Rhyno 1 September 23, 2001 29 Pittsburgh, PA Unforgiven
95 Kurt Angle 1 October 22, 2001 21 Kansas City, MO Raw
96 Edge 1 November 12, 2001 6 Boston, MA Raw
- Unified - November 18, 2001 0 Greensboro, NC Survivor Series Edge defeats WWF Intercontinental Champion Test to unify the two titles. Edge becomes Intercontinental Champion while the United States title is retired.
97 Eddie Guerrero 2 July 27, 2003 84 Denver, CO Vengeance Defeated Chris Benoit in a tournament final to revive the title.
98 The Big Show 1 October 19, 2003 147 Baltimore, MD No Mercy
99 John Cena 1 March 14, 2004 114 New York, NY WrestleMania XX This was the 1st time in history, that the Championship was defended at a Wrestlemania event.
- Vacated - July 6, 2004 0 Winnipeg, MB SmackDown! Cena was stripped of the title after attacking SmackDown! General Manager Kurt Angle. Aired July 8, 2004.
100 Booker T 2 July 27, 2004 68 Cincinnati, OH SmackDown! This was an 8-way elimination match, also involving John Cena, René Duprée, Kenzo Suzuki, Rob Van Dam, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas and Luther Reigns. Aired July 29, 2004.
101 John Cena 2 October 3, 2004 2 East Rutherford, NJ No Mercy This was the fifth match of a Best of Five series.
102 Carlito Caribbean Cool 1 October 5, 2004 42 Boston, MA SmackDown! Aired October 7, 2004.
103 John Cena 3 November 16, 2004 105 Dayton, OH SmackDown! Aired November 18, 2004.
104 Orlando Jordan 1 March 1, 2005 173 Albany, NY SmackDown! Aired March 3, 2005.
105 Chris Benoit 3 August 21, 2005 58 Washington, D.C. SummerSlam Famously won the match in :25.5 seconds. Benoit would go on to later face Jordan in a rematch on a future episode of SmackDown! where he proceeded to defeat Jordan in just :23.4 seconds, beating his previous record by more than :02 seconds.
106 Booker T 3 October 18, 2005 35 Reno, NV SmackDown! Aired October 21, 2005.
- Vacated - November 22, 2005 0 Sheffield, England SmackDown! Vacated when a title defense against Chris Benoit ended in a double pinfall. Aired November 25, 2005.
107 Booker T 4 January 10, 2006 40 Philadelphia, PA SmackDown! Booker faced Benoit in a Best of Seven series, winning the first three matches; Randy Orton substituted for Booker after that due to injury, losing the next three matches but winning the final. Aired January 13, 2006.
108 Chris Benoit 4 February 19, 2006 42 Baltimore, MD No Way Out
109 John "Bradshaw" Layfield 1 April 2, 2006 51 Rosemont, IL WrestleMania 22
110 Bobby Lashley 1 May 23, 2006 49 Bakersfield, CA SmackDown! Aired May 26, 2006
111 Finlay 1 July 11, 2006 49 Minneapolis, MN SmackDown! Aired July 14, 2006.
112 Mr. Kennedy 1 August 29, 2006 42 Reading, PA SmackDown! This was a Triple Threat match also involving Bobby Lashley, which aired September 1, 2006
113 Chris Benoit 5 October 10, 2006 222 Jacksonville, FL SmackDown! Aired October 13, 2006.
114 Montel Vontavious Porter 1 May 20, 2007 343 St. Louis, MO Judgment Day This was a Two Out Of Three Falls match, which MVP won 2–0.
115 Matt Hardy 1 April 27, 2008 84 Baltimore, MD Backlash The title became an ECW exclusive title when Hardy was drafted to ECW on June 23, 2008.
116 Shelton Benjamin 10 July 20, 2008 240 Uniondale, NY The Great American Bash The title was returned to SmackDown due to Benjamin's status as a SmackDown superstar.
117 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.
118 Kofi Kingston 1 June 1, 2009 126 Birmingham, AL Raw
119 The Miz 1 October 5, 2009 224 Wilkes-Barre, PA Raw
120 Bret Hart 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 Hart became General Manager of Raw.
121 R-Truth 1 21 Defeated The Miz to win the vacant title.
122 The Miz 2 June 14, 2010 97 Charlotte, NC Raw This was a Fatal Four Way match also involving John Morrison and Zack Ryder.
123 Daniel Bryan 1 September 19, 2010 176 Rosemont, IL Night of Champions
124 Sheamus 1 March 14, 2011 48 St. Louis, MO Raw Title becomes exclusive to SmackDown! once again when Sheamus is drafted to SmackDown! via the Supplemental Draft on April 26, 2011.
125 Kofi Kingston 2 May 1, 2011 49 Tampa, FL Extreme Rules This was a Tables match. Title becomes exclusive to RAW once again due to Kingston's status as a RAW Superstar.
126 Dolph Ziggler 1 June 19, 2011 182 Washington, D.C. Capitol Punishment
127 Zack Ryder 1 December 18, 2011 29 Baltimore, MD TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2011)
128 Jack Swagger 1 January 16, 2012 49 Anaheim, CA 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 WWE.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 110+ St. Louis, MO Extreme Rules