| Champion |
Defeated |
Date |
Location / Finish |
| Ric
Flair |
Jimmy
Snuka |
4/19/80 |
Greensboro,
NC; Although the title dates back to 1975, the
most reliable information begins with this title
change. |
| Roddy
Piper |
Ric
Flair |
1/27/81 |
Raleigh,
NC |
| Wahoo
McDaniel |
Roddy
Piper |
8/8/81 |
Greensboro,
NC |
| Sgt.
Slaughter |
Ricky
Steamboat |
10/4/81 |
Charlotte, NC
This was a tournament final to determine a new
champion after McDaniel vacated the title in
September, due to injuries sustained at the hands
of Abdullah the Butcher. |
| Wahoo McDaniel |
Sgt. Slaughter |
5/21/82 |
Richmond, VA |
| Sgt. Slaughter |
N/A |
6/7/82 |
Greeneville, SC
Slaughter was to have met McDaniel in a title
match but the champion could not compete after
having his leg injured at the hands of Roddy
Piper and Don Muraco. Slaughter thus won the
title on a forfeit. |
| Wahoo McDaniel |
Sgt. Slaugher |
8/22/82 |
Charlotte, NC |
| Greg Valentine |
Wahoo McDaniel |
11/14/82 |
Norfolk, VA |
| Roddy Piper |
Greg Valentine |
4/16/83 |
Greensboro, NC |
| Greg Valentine |
Roddy Piper |
4/30/83 |
Greensboro, NC;
Valentine regained the title when the match was
stopped due to excessive bleeding to Piper’s
left ear. |
| Dick Slater |
Greg Valentine |
12/14/83 |
Shelby, NC |
| Ricky Steamboat |
Dick Slater |
4/21/84 |
Greensboro, NC |
| Wahoo McDaniel |
Ricky Steamboat |
6/24/84 |
Greensboro, NC;
The championship was vacated following this
controversial bout in which Tully Blanchard hit
Steamboat in the head with a chair. |
| Wahoo McDaniel |
Manny Fernandez |
10/7/84 |
Charlotte, NC |
| Magnum TA |
Wahoo McDaniel |
3/23/85 |
Charlotte, NC |
| Tully Blachard |
Magnum TA |
7/21/85 |
Charlotte, NC |
| Magnum TA |
Tully Blanchard |
11/28/85 |
Greensboro, NC;
Starrcade ’85; This was a
steel cage ‘I Quit’ match which Magnum
won by repeatedly driving a piece of wood into
the already bloody forehead of Blanchard. |
| Nikita Koloff |
Magnum TA |
8/17/86 |
Charlotte, NC; Great
American Bash ’86 Tour; This was
the final of a Best of 7 series between the two
that would crown a new champion after the title
was vacated in May after Magnum attacked NWA
President Bob Geigel. |
| Lex Luger |
Nikita Koloff |
7/11/87 |
Greensboro, NC;
Great American Bash ’87
Tour; This was a steel cage match in which Luger
won with the Torture Rack backbreaker. |
| Dusty Rhodes |
Lex Luger |
11/26/87 |
Chicago, IL; Starrcade
’87; This was a steel cage match in
which if Rhodes lost he could not wrestle for 90
days; Rhodes won with a DDT onto a steel chair;
This was the same day as the WWF’s first
Survivor Series. |
| Barry Windham |
Nikita Koloff |
5/13/88 |
Houston, TX;
This was a tournament final that would crown a
new champion after Rhodes was stripped of the
title in April by attacking NWA President Jim
Crockett with a baseball bat. |
| Lex Luger |
Barry Windham |
2/20/89 |
Chicago, IL; Chi-Town
Rumble ’89; Luger won by lifting
his shoulder during a back suplex into a bridge
by Windham; the champion pinned himself. |
| Micheal Hayes |
Lex Luger |
5/7/89 |
Nashville, TN; Music
City Showdown; Hayes won after outside
interference from Terry Gordy. |
| Lex Luger |
Micheal Hayes |
5/22/89 |
Bluefield, WV |
| Stan Hansen |
Lex Luger |
10/27/90 |
Chicago, IL ;Halloween
Havoc ’90; Hansen won with the
lariat after Dan Spivey distracted the champion. |
| Lex Luger |
Stan Hansen |
12/16/90 |
St. Louis, MO; Starrcade
’90; This was a bullrope match;
Luger was presented with a brand new title belt
following a title defense against Dan Spivey on
2/24/91; Luger vacated the title after winning
the world heavyweight title on 7/14/91. |
| Sting |
Steve Austin |
8/25/91 |
Atlanta, GA;
This was a tournament final to determine the new
champion; Austin was the reigning TV champion at
the time of this match.
|
| Rick Rude |
Sting |
11/19/91 |
Savannah, GA; Clash
of the Champions XVII; Lex Luger had
attacked Sting earlier in the night, seriously
injuring his knee; Rude won with a roll up and
holding the champion’s tights. |
| Dustin Rhodes |
Ricky Steamboat |
1/11/93 |
Atlanta, GA;
This was a tournament final after Rude suffered
an injury and was forced to vacate the title;
Rhodes won via count-out after Barry Windham
interfered and attacked Steamboat |
| Dustin Rhodes |
Rick Rude |
8/30/93 |
Atlanta, GA; WCW
Saturday Night; This was the final of a
Best of 3 series; The title was vacated in May
following a controversial meeting between the
two; Rhodes won with a roll up after Ric Flair
distracted Rude; This was the same day as the
WWF’s SummerSlam. |
| Steve Austin |
Dustin Rhodes |
12/27/93 |
Charlotte, NC; Starrcade
’93; This was a Best 2 out of 3
Falls match; Austin won two straight falls with a
controversial disqualification and by putting his
feet on the ropes during a cover. |
| Ricky Steamboat |
Steve Austin |
8/24/94 |
Cedar Rapids,
IA; Clash of the Champions XXVIII;
If Austin were disqualified in this bout he would
lose his title; Steamboat won by blocking a slam
into an inside cradle |
| Steve Austin |
Ricky Steamboat |
9/18/94 |
Roanoke, VA; Fall
Brawl ’94; Steamboat was forced to
forfeit the title after suffering a career-ending
back injury. |
| Jim Duggan |
Steve Austin |
9/18/94 |
Roanoke, VA; Fall
Brawl ’94; WCW Commissioner Nick
Bockwinkel brought in Duggan as a surprise
challenger; Duggan won the title with a few
clotheslines and backdrops, taking the title
after only 27 seconds. |
| Vader |
Jim Duggan |
12/27/94 |
Starrcade
’94; Vader won with a reverse powerbomb
after Duggan was hit with his own 2X4; Vader was
stripped of the title in April after attacking
Dave Sullivan. |
| Sting |
Meng |
6/18/95 |
Dayton , OH; Great
American Bash ’95; This was a
tournament final; Sting won with a jumping DDT. |
| Kensuki Sasaki |
Sting |
11/13/95 |
Tokyo, Japan |
| One Man Gang |
Kensuki Sasaki |
12/27/95 |
Nasville, TN;
This was an untelevised bout which took place
before Starrcade ’95 went to air - shown
weeks later; Gang pinned the champion with a
splash but the match was later restarted with
Sasaki winning the match; However, WCW never
aired the full match. |
| Konnan |
One Man Gang |
1/29/96 |
Canton, OH; WCW
Monday Nitro; Konnan won by holding onto
the top rope as Gang attempted to bring him
inside the ring; The momentum sent the challenger
crashing onto the champion. |
| Ric Flair |
Konnan |
7/7/96 |
Daytona Beach,
FL; Bash at the Beach ’96;
Flair won after Woman hit the champion in the eye
with her high heel shoe.
|
| Eddie Guererro |
DDP |
12/29/96 |
Nashville, TN; Starrcade
’96; This was a tournament final
after Flair suffered a shoulder injury during the
fall; Guerrero won with the frog splash after
Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Syxx interfered. |
| Dean Malenko |
Eddie Guerrero |
3/17/97 |
Charleston, SC;
Uncensored ’97; This was a
No DQ match in which Syxx’ interference saw
the champion be hit with a video camera |
| Jeff Jarrett |
Dean Malenko |
6/9/97 |
Boston, MA; WCW
Monday Nitro; Jarrett won via pinfall
with the figure-4 after outside interference from
Eddie Guerrero. |
| Steve McMicheal |
Jeff Jarrett |
8/21/97 |
Nashville, TN; Clash
of the Champions XXXV; McMichael won
after Eddie Guerrero accidentally hit Jarrett
with the haliberton. |
| Curt Hennig |
Steve McMicheal |
9/15/97 |
Charlotte, NC; Monday
Night Nitro |
| DDP |
Curt Hennig |
4/19/98 |
Denver, CO; Spring
Stampede ’98; This was a
Raven’s Rules bout in which Horace Boulder
attacked Page with a Stop sign, allowing Raven to
use his Evenflow DDT to win the match. |
| Goldberg |
Raven |
4/20/98 |
Colorado
Springs, CO; WCW Monday Nitro;
Goldberg won the title with the Spear and
Jackhammer, despite the outside interference from
Raven’s Flock. |
| Bret Hart |
DDP |
7/20/98 |
Salt Lake City,
UT; WCW Monday Nitro; This bout
would determine the new champion after Goldberg
vacated the title by winning the heavyweight belt
two weeks prior; Hart won with the Sharpshooter
after Page had been brutally attacked earlier in
the night by the New World Order. |
| Lex Luger |
Bret Hart |
8/10/98 |
Rapid City, SD;
WCW Monday Nitro; Luger won via
submission to the Torture Rack. |
| Bret Hart |
Lex Luger |
8/13/98 |
Fargo, SD; WCW
Thunder; Hart won with the Sharpshooter
after knocking out Luger with a foreign object. |
| DDP |
Bret Hart |
10/26/98 |
Phoenix, AZ; WCW
Monday Nitro; Just 24 hours after
failing to win the world title from Bill
Goldberg, Page claims the U.S. belt with the
Diamond Cutter. |
| Bret Hart |
DDP |
11/30/98 |
Chatanooga, TN;
WCW Monday Nitro; This was a No
DQ match in which The Giant helped Hart reclaim
the title. |
| Roddy Piper |
Bret Hart |
2/8/99 |
Buffalo, NY; WCW
Monday Nitro |
| Scott Hall |
Roddy Piper |
2/21/99 |
Oakland, CA; SuperBrawl
IX; Hall won with a roll up thanks to
Kevin Nash’s distraction. |
| Scott Steiner |
Scott Hall |
4/11/99 |
Tacoma, CA;
Spring Stampede ’99; This was a
tournament final after Hall was stripped of the
belt. |
| David Flair |
N/A |
7/5/99 |
Atlanta, GA; WCW
Monday Nitro; David was given the
championship by his father and WCW Commissioner
Ric Flair; The title was vacated due to Scott
Steiner’s injury; he successfully defended
the title that same night against Buff Bagwell.
|
| Chris Benoit |
David Flair |
8/8/99 |
Boise, ID; WCW
Monday Nitro; Benoit won with the diving
headbutt as The Revolution fended off Ric
Flair’s cohorts around ringside. |
| Sid Vicious |
Chris Benoit |
9/12/99 |
Winston-Salem,
NC; Fall Brawl ’99; Vicious
won with the powerbomb. |
| Goldberg |
Sid Vicious |
10/24/99 |
Las Vegas, NV; Halloween
Havoc ’99; Goldberg won the bout
when the referee stopped the match due to
excessive bleeding from the champion; Later in
the night, Goldberg also defeated WCW World
Champion Sting in an impromptu match; Due to the
controversy surrounding the bout, the world title
was vacated the following night. |
| Bret Hart |
Goldberg |
10/25/99 |
Phoenix, AZ; WCW
Monday Nitro; This was also a
first-round bout in the world title tournament;
Hart won after interference from The Outsiders
and a powerbomb from Sid Vicious. |
| Scott Hall |
N/A |
N/A |
WCW Monday
Nitro |
| Chris Benoit |
Scott Hall |
12/19/99 |
Washington, DC;
Starrcade ’99; Benoit was
to have met Scott Hall but the champion
didn’t show due to injury and he was thus
awarded the title; Benoit did successfully defend
that same night against Jeff Jarrett in a ladder
match. |
| Jeff Jarrett |
Chris Benoit |
12/20/00 |
Baltimore, MD; WCW
Monday Nitro; This was a rematch from
the previous night’s ladder match; Jarrett
won thanks to a broken ladder and using his
guitar as a weapon. |
| Jeff Jarrett |
N/A |
1/17/00 |
Columbus, OH; WCW
Monday Nitro; WCW Commissioner Kevin
Nash awarded Jarrett the title after he was
stripped of it the prior night due to injury. |
| Scott Steiner |
Sting |
4/16/00 |
Chicago, IL; Spring
Stampede ’00; This was the finals
of a one-night tournament; Vince Russo had
stripped all the champions of their titles 6 days
prior; Steiner won with the Steiner Recliner
after Vampiro interfered. |
| Lance Storm |
Mike Awesome |
7/18/00 |
Auburn Hills,
MO; WCW Tuesday Nitro; This was
the finals of a one-night tournament to crown a
new champion after Steiner was stripped of his
title by The Cat for using the illegal Steiner
Recliner; Storm won with the Canadian Maple Leaf
submission hold; During this reign Storm also
held the Hardcore and Cruiserweight titles before
vacating both. |
| Terry Funk |
Lance Storm |
9/22/00 |
Amarillo, TX;
House Show; Funk won with a piledriver when Elix
Skipper’s interference backfired. |
| Lance Storm |
Terry Funk |
9/23/00 |
Lubbock, TX;
House Show |
| Gen. Rection |
Lance Storm |
10/29/00 |
Las Vegas, NV; Halloween
Havoc ’00; Rection pinned Jim
Duggan with a moonsault in this 2-on-1 handicap
match.
|
| Lance Storm |
Gen. Rection |
11/10/00 |
London,
England; WCW Monday Nitro; Storm
regained the title with the Canadian Maple Leaf
after Major Gunns joined Team Canada |
| Gen. Rection |
Lance Storm |
11/26/00 |
Milwaukee, WI; Mayhem
’00; Rection regained the title
with the No Laughing Matter moonsault, despite
interference from Major Gunns. |
| Shane Douglas |
Gen. Rection |
1/14/01 |
Sin; Douglas
won this First Blood Chain Match by using a chain
from his tights to bust the champion open, rather
than the one on the pole. |
| Rick Steiner |
Shane Douglas |
1/15/01 |
WCW
Monday Nitro |
| Booker T |
Rick Steiner |
N/A |
WCW
Greed |
| Chris Kanyon |
Booker T |
N/A |
WWF RAW; Booker T handed the US Title over to Chris Kanyon after he helped the Alliance perform well at the "Invasion" Pay Per View. |
| Rhyno |
Chris Kanyon |
N/A |
WWF RAW |
| Tajiri |
Rhyno |
9/23/01 |
WWF Unforgiven |
| Kurt Angle |
Tajiri |
N/A |
WWF SmackDown |
| Edge |
Kurt Angle |
N/A |
WWF RAW; Edge later beat Test for the Intercontinental Title at WWF Survivor Series on November 18th unifying both titles which left the Intercontinental Title only, eliminating the WCW US Title. |
| Eddie Guerrero |
Chris Benoit |
7/27/03 |
WWE Vengeance; Stephanie McMahon decided to bring back the US Title to have it exclusive for the SmackDown Brand. Following a long tournament, the finals came down to Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit. In the end, Rhyno interfered & gave Benoit a Gore, allowing Guerrero to hit the Frog Splash & start his 2nd reign as US Champion (1 prior title reign in WCW in 1996). |
| Big Show |
Eddie Guerrero |
10/19/03 |
WWE No Mercy |
| John Cena |
Big Show |
3/14/04 |
New York, New York;WWE WrestleMania XX; After a nearly 5 month reign as US Champ, Big Show was beaten by John Cena in the opening contest of WrestleMania XX. The finish saw Cena attempt to use a chain around his fist to hit Big Show, the ref didn't allow this and Cena threw the chain down. When the referee went to go pick up the chain, Cena hit Show with some brass knucks behind the ref's back and then hit the FU for the pinfall. |
| Booker T |
John Cena |
7/29/04 |
Cincinnati, OH;WWE SmackDown; A few weeks prior, John Cena was stripped of the WWE United States title by then SmackDown GM Kurt Angle. Weeks later, the newly appointed GM Theodore Long made an Eight Man Elimination Match involving John Cena, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas, Rene Dupree, Luther Reigns & Kenzo Suzuki. In the end, Booker T got the final elimination over RVD to become the new WWE United States Champion. |
| John Cena |
Booker T |
10/3/04 |
East Rutherford, NJ;WWE No Mercy; The final match of the Best of Five Series between Booker T & John Cena came to a close at No Mercy with the series tied 2-2. Cena was able to pick up the win after countering a scissors kick from Booker into the FU for the win. |
| Carlito Caribbean Cool |
John Cena |
10/7/04 |
Boston, MA;WWE SmackDown; Just four days after defeating Booker T for the title at No Mercy, John Cena defended against newcomer Carlito Caribbean Cool. In the end, Carlito used Cena's own chain against him, knocking him out and gaining the pinfall to become the new WWE United States Champion in his first WWE match. |
| John Cena |
Carlito Caribbean Cool |
11/18/04 |
Dayton, OH;WWE SmackDown; After the incident at Survivor Series, GM Theodore Long forced an injured Carlito to defend the WWE US Title against Cena. A quick FU gave Cena the win upon his return to SmackDown. |
| Orlando Jordan |
John Cena |
3/3/05 |
Albany, NY;WWE SmackDown; After a three and a half month reign as US Champion, John Cena wanted to prove he was a fighting champion again Orlando Jordan. Interference from JBL & The Bashams proved too much however as Jordan picked up the pinfall to capture the title. |
| Chris Benoit |
Orlando Jordan |
8/21/05 |
Washington, DC;WWE SummerSlam; In just 25 seconds, Chris Benoit was able to lock in the Crossface on champion Orlando Jordan and cause him to tap out to gain the US Title in record speed. |
| Booker T |
Chris Benoit |
10/21/05 |
Reno, NV;WWE SmackDown; After holding the title for two months, Chris Benoit defended his title against Booker T after Booker earned a shot at the title the week before. With some help from his wife Sharmell, Booker was able to secure the win and start his third reign as U.S. Champion (in both WCW & WWE). |
| Chris Benoit |
Booker T |
2/19/06 |
Baltimore, MD;WWE No Way Out; After Benoit was defeated by Randy Orton in the Best of 7 Series replacing the injured Booker T, Booker was forced to defend his title when he claimed he wasn't 100%. After all was said and done, Booker tapped out to the Crossface to give Benoit the win and capture the WWE United States Title once again. |
| JBL |
Chris Benoit |
4/2/06 |
Chicago, IL;WWE WrestleMania 22; After suffering a broken hand at the "hands of Chris Benoit" in a new storyline, Chris Benoit defended the WWE United States Title against JBL at WrestleMania. After a reversal of the Crossface into a pinfall, JBL was able to capture the title. |
| Bobby Lashley |
JBL |
5/26/06 |
Bakersfield, CA;WWE Friday Night SmackDown |
| Finlay |
Bobby Lashley |
7/14/06 |
Minneapolis, MN;WWE Friday Night SmackDown |
| Mr. Kennedy |
Finlay & Bobby Lashley |
9/1/06 |
Reading, PA;WWE Friday Night SmackDown |
| Chris Benoit |
Mr. Kennedy |
10/13/06 |
Jacksonville, FL;WWE Friday Night SmackDown |
| MVP |
Chris Benoit |
5/20/07 |
St. Louis, MO;WWE Judgment Day |
| Matt Hardy |
MVP |
4/27/08 |
Baltimore, MD;WWE Backlash |
