WWE United States Championship
Dolph Ziggler with the WWE United States Championship Belt
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ( Mid-Atlantic )
- WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
- WCW United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship ( WWE Championship German to the United States) is a wrestling title for individual wrestlers in the WWE. Introduced in January 1975, the title was originally part of the wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance and later World Championship Wrestling. Since March 2001, is the title held by the WWE. The title is now equivalent to the Intercontinental Championship. As in Wrestling common practice the allocated according to a predetermined storyline.
History
Although the National Wrestling Alliance in 1950 already a United States Champion, had other promotions have also conducted their own United States Title over several years. The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ( eng. NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ) Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling became the main title of the Mid- Atlantic region on 1 January 1975 with Harley Race as the first title holder. The title became the Undisputed NWA United States Championship ( eng. undisputed NWA United States Championship) was signed in January 1981 as the last NWA promotion with private United States title. 1986, the title was demoted to secondary title in the Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling after the Promotion acquired the rights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In 1991, the title was renamed World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) United States Heavyweight Championship as Mid Atlantic became World Championship Wrestling.
In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling League competition. WWF President Vince McMahon thus launched the storyline invasion of WCW. The WWF defeated then the alliance consisting of WCW and ECW. During the invasion, only four WCW title remained active, including the United States Championship, which was only called WCW United States Championship. In the end of the invasion, the United States Championship united with the WWF Intercontinental Championship as the WCW United States Champion Edge defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion test. As a result, the United States Championship was deactivated and Edge became the new WWF Intercontinental Champion.
Following the acquisition of WCW, the split due to a lawsuit with the World Wildlife Fund renamed WWE in the two roster Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown! on to divide the mass of the superstars after the purchase of WCW. However, both leagues needed a secondary title for the midcard and upper Card. On 27 July 2003, the title as the WWE United States Championship was on SmackDown! reactivated. Thus, the United States Championship was next to the Intercontinental Championship one of the two midcard titles with no weight limit of the WWE. On 23 June 2008, during the WWE Draft, Matt Hardy joined with the United States Championship to ECW. At the Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, the title changed by beating Shelton Benjamin back to the SmackDown roster. On 13 April 2009, the title at the WWE Draft by its title Montel Vontavious Porter carrier part of RAW was. In the Draft 2011 title winner Sheamus changed the title to SmackDown. On 1 May 2011 he lost the title to Kofi Kingston, causing it switched to RAW again. Meanwhile, the title will be defended both RAW and Smackdown.
Current title holder
The current WWE United States Champion Dean Ambrose is in his first reign. He defeated Kofi Kingston at WWE Extreme Rules on May 19, 2013 St. Louis, Missouri.