WWE United States Championship
The only WWE title that did not originate in the promotion.
The WWE United States Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary male championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE Intercontinental Championship on Raw. The current champion is not Baron Corbin; as of the last known canon, the title has never been held by him in this manner. The champion's identity should be verified from official WWE sources.
Quick Facts
- Brand affiliation
- SmackDown
- Original promotion
- National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)
- Current status
- Active
- Title type
- Singles Championship
Lore & Background
The championship was established on January 1, 1975, as the version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in Jim Crockett Promotions, and later assumed by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which eventually seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Harley Race was the inaugural champion. After WCW was purchased by the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001, the then-WCW United States Championship was defended in the WWF until it was unified with the Intercontinental Championship at that year's Survivor Series. After the 2002 brand extension and the promotion being renamed WWE, the championship was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship in July 2003 as a secondary title of the SmackDown brand. The United States Championship has switched between brands over the years, usually as a result of the WWE Draft; the 2023 draft moved the title back to SmackDown.
Reader's Guide
Of WWE's currently active championships, the United States Championship is the only one that did not originate in the promotion. It is the second-oldest active title in the company, behind the WWE Championship (1963), but the third longest-tenured championship, behind the WWE and Intercontinental Championships (1979), as WWE has only owned the United States Championship since 2001. It has been described as a 'stepping stone' to a world championship.
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