WWE United States Championship

That changed, however, in January 1981; San Francisco-based NWA territory Big Time Wrestling, which was the last remaining promotion outside the Mid-Atlantic territory that recognized its own United States Champion, ceased operations around that time, leaving the Mid-Atlantic version as the only remaining United States Championship.Eddie Guerrero became the first champion after its reactivation by winning a tournament at that year's Vengeance, defeating Chris Benoit in the final match.The first brand extension ended on August 29, 2011, allowing the United States Championship, as well as all other titles, to be defended on both Raw and SmackDown.In August at that year's SummerSlam, United States Champion John Cena faced WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in a Winner Takes All match, which Rollins ultimately won to become the first wrestler to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and United States Championship simultaneously.[4] On April 11, 2017, United States Champion Kevin Owens, along with the title, moved to SmackDown as a result of that year's Superstar Shake-up.[6][7] The championship definitively returned to Raw in 2019 when reigning champion Samoa Joe was drafted to the brand during that year's Superstar Shake-up.[8] During the November 8, 2024, episode of SmackDown, general manager Nick Aldis introduced the women's counterpart to the United States Championship.A center plate on the gold background consisted of a map of the Contiguous United States with a flag shown along with an eagle.On top of the plate shows the WCW logo with the two banners reading on the black background "UNITED STATES" along with two stars on each side while the text says "HEAVYWEIGHT WRESTLING CHAMPION" on the bottom.[9][10] On the July 6, 2020, episode of Raw, after 17 years since the title's reactivation, MVP introduced a completely new belt design for the United States Championship.The top portion of the center plate features the WWE logo flanked by white stars on a gold background.[13] On the following episode of SmackDown Live, after recapping all of his previous accolades, Ziggler said that the WWE Universe did not deserve him and he dropped the title in the ring and left.[14] After unsuccessful attempts at contacting Ziggler, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan declared the title vacant and announced a tournament to crown a new champion.