List of WWE United States Champions

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 January 1, 1975. 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. Ilja Dragunov is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Sami Zayn in an open challenge on the October 17, 2025, episode of SmackDown in San Jose, California. Overall, there have been 186 reigns among 107 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.