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This title was introduced in 2003. The WWE came under a lot of criticism for retiring the Intercontinental Championship one year earlier. When they caved in to pressure to bring it back, it was welcomed by fans with much enthusiasm. But it left SmackDown looking considerably weaker than the Raw brand. So this title was introduced as a balance.
It is based on the WCW United States Championship, which was brought into the company when WWE bought out WCW. The WWE has claimed that it is a continuation of the former title. But they do not insist upon this as heavily as they do with the World Heavyweight Championship.
The original title was introduced to the Mid-Atlantic region of the NWA in 1975. Over time, it became the main U.S. title of the NWA, and then in WCW title.
All of the information here relates to the WWE version of the title, unless otherwise stated.
WWE United States Title Trivia:
The big controversy with this title is that Chris Benoit played a significant part in the the first half of it's existence. As we know too well, the WWE tried to edit Benoit out of their history. But Benoit had multiple title related records that had to be broken first.
John Cena, Booker T and Kofi Kingston are tied for most title reigns, winning the belt 3 times. Chris Benoit is also tied for this record. But the WWE believed that Cena and Booker T were already bigger stars than Benoit was, so fans would not notice that he shared the record.
MVP's first run with the title has been the longest. MVP won the title from Benoit, who previously held the records for longest reign, and longest combined time as champion. MVP's title run was intentionally extended to make sure that Benoit lost the records. MVP's 343 day title run beats Benoit's combined 322 days.
MVP's total time as champion reached 419 days. This is longer than anyone else.
The WWE loves to celebrate the number of title holders who were not from the United States. But the actual number of people with this achievement is disputed. For example, the Mexican Eddie Guerrero was born and lived in Texas. Puerto Rican born Carlito has American citizenship as a birth-rite. And Santino Marella is not actually from Italy.
John Cena had his own customised title for his third and final reign as champion. It was heavily based upon the hip-hop gimmick that he had. His name was attached to the center plate. And the centre plate could be turned, making it the first "Spinner-title". In story line, the title belt was destroyed by JBL. In reality, the belt resides in WWE headquaters.
Eddie Guerrero defended this title, as well as the WWE Tag Team Championship, in separate matches on the same episode of SmackDown. This made him the first man to successfully defend 2 different titles on the same night on network television.
Chris Benoit once defeated Orlando Jordan in under 1 minute. This still stands as the fastest title change at SummerSlam.
When Bret Hart won the title, he became the only person to win a title in 5 different decades; the '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s and '10s.
Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, Chris Benoit and Bret Hart all held the WCW version of the title as well.
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>All WWE United States Champions</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
1. Eddie Guerrero
2. Big Show
3. John Cena (3)
4. Booker T (3)
5. Carlito
6. Orlando Jordan
7. Chris Benoit (3)
8. JBL
9. Bobby Lashley
10. Finlay
11. Mr. Kennedy
12. MVP (2)
13. Matt Hardy
14. Shelton Benjamin
15. Kofi Kingston (3)
16. Miz (2)
17. Bret Hart
18. R-Truth
19. Daniel Bryan
20. Zack Ryder
21. Jack Swagger
22. Santino Marella
23. Antonio Cesaro
24. Dean Ambrose
</div>
It is based on the WCW United States Championship, which was brought into the company when WWE bought out WCW. The WWE has claimed that it is a continuation of the former title. But they do not insist upon this as heavily as they do with the World Heavyweight Championship.
The original title was introduced to the Mid-Atlantic region of the NWA in 1975. Over time, it became the main U.S. title of the NWA, and then in WCW title.
All of the information here relates to the WWE version of the title, unless otherwise stated.
WWE United States Title Trivia:
The big controversy with this title is that Chris Benoit played a significant part in the the first half of it's existence. As we know too well, the WWE tried to edit Benoit out of their history. But Benoit had multiple title related records that had to be broken first.
John Cena, Booker T and Kofi Kingston are tied for most title reigns, winning the belt 3 times. Chris Benoit is also tied for this record. But the WWE believed that Cena and Booker T were already bigger stars than Benoit was, so fans would not notice that he shared the record.
MVP's first run with the title has been the longest. MVP won the title from Benoit, who previously held the records for longest reign, and longest combined time as champion. MVP's title run was intentionally extended to make sure that Benoit lost the records. MVP's 343 day title run beats Benoit's combined 322 days.
MVP's total time as champion reached 419 days. This is longer than anyone else.
The WWE loves to celebrate the number of title holders who were not from the United States. But the actual number of people with this achievement is disputed. For example, the Mexican Eddie Guerrero was born and lived in Texas. Puerto Rican born Carlito has American citizenship as a birth-rite. And Santino Marella is not actually from Italy.
John Cena had his own customised title for his third and final reign as champion. It was heavily based upon the hip-hop gimmick that he had. His name was attached to the center plate. And the centre plate could be turned, making it the first "Spinner-title". In story line, the title belt was destroyed by JBL. In reality, the belt resides in WWE headquaters.
Eddie Guerrero defended this title, as well as the WWE Tag Team Championship, in separate matches on the same episode of SmackDown. This made him the first man to successfully defend 2 different titles on the same night on network television.
Chris Benoit once defeated Orlando Jordan in under 1 minute. This still stands as the fastest title change at SummerSlam.
When Bret Hart won the title, he became the only person to win a title in 5 different decades; the '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s and '10s.
Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, Chris Benoit and Bret Hart all held the WCW version of the title as well.
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>All WWE United States Champions</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
1. Eddie Guerrero
2. Big Show
3. John Cena (3)
4. Booker T (3)
5. Carlito
6. Orlando Jordan
7. Chris Benoit (3)
8. JBL
9. Bobby Lashley
10. Finlay
11. Mr. Kennedy
12. MVP (2)
13. Matt Hardy
14. Shelton Benjamin
15. Kofi Kingston (3)
16. Miz (2)
17. Bret Hart
18. R-Truth
19. Daniel Bryan
20. Zack Ryder
21. Jack Swagger
22. Santino Marella
23. Antonio Cesaro
24. Dean Ambrose
</div>