WCW United States Heavyweight Championship

Years Active 1991 — 2001

Promotion WCW

Brand N/A

Total Reigns 47

Total Champions 32

Last Champion Booker T

Longest Reign

Rick Rude

378 days as the WCW United States Heavyweight Champion

Won at Clash of the Champions XVII against Sting on November 19, 1991 and held title until December 1, 1992.

Most Reigns

Longest Reigns

Rick Rude (378 days)
Steve Austin (240 days)
Konnan (160 days)

About This Championship

The WCW United States Heavyweight Championship continued the lineage of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship after World Championship Wrestling separated its title branding from the NWA name in 1991. The championship remained one of WCW’s main singles titles and was usually positioned below the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

This version of the title was active through many of WCW’s most important years. It was defended during the company’s national television growth, the Monday Nitro period, the New World Order years, and the final stretch of WCW programming. Major champions during this period included Lex Luger, Sting, Rick Rude, Dustin Rhodes, Steve Austin, Vader, Ric Flair, Eddie Guerrero, Goldberg, Bret Hart, Scott Steiner, and Booker T.

The title kept its connection to the earlier Jim Crockett Promotions and NWA lineage while becoming fully associated with WCW. Booker T held the championship when WCW aired its final Monday Nitro in 2001. After the WWF purchased WCW, the title continued onto WWF television during the Invasion storyline under the shorter WCW United States Championship name.

Championship Name History

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship 1975 – 1991

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WCW United States Heavyweight Championship 1991 – 2001

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WCW United States Championship 2001 – 2001

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WWE United States Championship 1975 – Present

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Complete Reign History

= Reign Distinction = Includes Reign Notes

# Click to sort	Wrestler Click to sort	Date Won Click to sort	Opponent(s) Click to sort	Event Click to sort	Match Type Click to sort	Partner(s) Click to sort
89	Booker T	Mar 18, 2001	Rick Steiner	Greed 2001	Singles Match	128
88	Rick Steiner	Feb 5, 2001	Shane Douglas	Nitro	Singles Match	41
87	Shane Douglas	Jan 14, 2001	Gen. Rection	Sin 2001	First Blood Match	22
86	Gen. Rection	Nov 26, 2000	Lance Storm	Mayhem 2000	Singles Match	49
85	Lance Storm	Nov 10, 2000	Gen. Rection	Nitro	Singles Match	16
84	Gen. Rection	Oct 29, 2000	Lance Storm	Halloween Havoc 2000	Handicap Match	12
–	Lance Storm	Sep 23, 2000	Terry Funk	House show	Singles Match	36
–	Terry Funk	Sep 22, 2000	Lance Storm	House show	Singles Match	1
83	Lance Storm	Jul 18, 2000	Mike Awesome	Nitro	Tournament Final Match	66
—	Title Vacated from July 9, 2000 to July 18, 2000 (9 days)
82	Scott Steiner	Apr 16, 2000	Sting	Spring Stampede 2000	Tournament Final Match	84
Steiner’s reign ended after WCW Commissioner Ernest Miller stripped him of the title at Bash at the Beach 2000 for using the banned Steiner Recliner during his match against Mike Awesome.
—	Title Vacated from April 10, 2000 to April 16, 2000 (6 days)
81	Jeff Jarrett	Jan 17, 2000		Nitro		84
New WCW Commissioner Kevin Nash awarded Jarrett the title one day after it had been taken from him because of his concussion. His reign ended on April 10, 2000, when Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo vacated all WCW championships during the company’s storyline reset.
—	Title Vacated from January 16, 2000 to January 17, 2000 (1 day)
80	Jeff Jarrett	Dec 20, 1999	Chris Benoit	Nitro	Ladder Match	27
Jarrett’s reign ended after he suffered a concussion during a steel cage match against Jimmy Snuka. He was stripped of the title on January 16, 2000, because he was unable to defend it at Souled Out.
79	Chris Benoit	Dec 19, 1999	Scott Hall	Starrcade 1999	Singles Match	1
78	Scott Hall	Nov 8, 1999	Sid Vicious, Bret Hart, and Goldberg	Nitro	Ladder Match	41
77	Bret Hart	Oct 25, 1999	Goldberg	Nitro	Singles Match	14
76	Goldberg	Oct 24, 1999	Sid Vicious	Halloween Havoc 1999	Singles Match	1
75	Sid Vicious	Sep 12, 1999	Chris Benoit	Fall Brawl 1999	Singles Match	42
74	Chris Benoit	Aug 9, 1999	David Flair	Nitro	Singles Match	34
73	David Flair	Jul 5, 1999		Nitro	Singles Match	35
David Flair began his reign after his father, WCW President Ric Flair, stripped Scott Steiner of the title and awarded the vacant championship to him on July 5, 1999.
—	Title Vacated on July 5, 1999
72	Scott Steiner	Apr 11, 1999	Booker T	Spring Stampede 1999	Tournament Final Match	89
Steiner’s reign ended when WCW President Ric Flair stripped him of the title on July 5, 1999, claiming Steiner was traveling instead of defending it. Flair then awarded the title to his son, David Flair.
—	Title Vacated from March 18, 1999 to April 11, 1999 (24 days)
71	Scott Hall	Feb 21, 1999	Roddy Piper	SuperBrawl IX	Singles Match	25
Hall’s reign ended when WCW President Ric Flair stripped him of the title on March 18, 1999, saying he couldn’t find Hall. The title was declared vacant, and a tournament began that night.
70	Roddy Piper	Feb 8, 1999	Bret Hart	Nitro	Singles Match	13
69	Bret Hart	Nov 30, 1998	Diamond Dallas Page	Nitro	No Disqualification Match	70
68	Diamond Dallas Page	Oct 26, 1998	Bret Hart	Nitro	Singles Match	35
67	Bret Hart	Aug 13, 1998	Lex Luger	Thunder	Singles Match	74
66	Lex Luger	Aug 10, 1998	Bret Hart	Nitro	Singles Match	3
65	Bret Hart	Jul 20, 1998	Diamond Dallas Page	Nitro	Vacant Title Match	21
—	Title Vacated from July 6, 1998 to July 20, 1998 (14 days)
64	Goldberg	Apr 20, 1998	Raven	Nitro	Raven’s Rules Match	77
Goldberg’s reign ended when the title was vacated after he defeated Hollywood Hogan to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on on July 6, 1998.
63	Raven	Apr 19, 1998	Diamond Dallas Page	Spring Stampede 1998	Raven’s Rules Match	1
62	Diamond Dallas Page	Dec 28, 1997	Curt Hennig	Starrcade 1997	Singles Match	112
61	Curt Hennig	Sep 15, 1997	Steve McMichael	Nitro	Singles Match	104
60	Steve McMichael	Aug 21, 1997	Jeff Jarrett	Clash of the Champions XXXV	Singles Match	25
59	Jeff Jarrett	Jun 9, 1997	Dean Malenko	Nitro	Singles Match	73
58	Dean Malenko	Mar 16, 1997	Eddie Guerrero	Uncensored 1997	No Disqualification Match	85
57	Eddie Guerrero	Dec 29, 1996	Diamond Dallas Page	Starrcade 1996	Tournament Final Match	77
—	Title Vacated from November 25, 1996 to December 29, 1996 (34 days)
56	Ric Flair	Jul 7, 1996	Konnan	Bash at the Beach 1996	Singles Match	141
Flair was stripped of the title on November 25, 1996 because a shoulder injury prevented him from defending it.
55	Konnan	Jan 29, 1996	One Man Gang	Main Event	Singles Match	160
54	One Man Gang	Dec 27, 1995	Kensuke Sasaki	Starrcade '95: World Cup of Wrestling	Singles Match	33
53	Kensuke Sasaki	Nov 13, 1995	Sting	NJPW WCW World in Japan 1995	Singles Match	44
52	Sting	Jun 18, 1995	Meng	The Great American Bash 1995	Tournament Final Match	148
—	Title Vacated from March 25, 1995 to June 18, 1995 (85 days)
51	Vader	Dec 27, 1994	Jim Duggan	Starrcade '94: Triple Threat	Singles Match	88
Vader was stripped of the title by WCW commissioner Nick Bockwinkel for attacking and injuring Dave Sullivan.
50	Jim Duggan	Sep 18, 1994	Steve Austin	Fall Brawl '94: War Games	Singles Match	100
49	Steve Austin	Sep 18, 1994		Fall Brawl '94: War Games	Singles Match	<1
48	Ricky Steamboat	Aug 24, 1994	Steve Austin	Clash of the Champions XXVIII	Singles Match	25
47	Steve Austin	Dec 27, 1993	Dustin Rhodes	Starrcade '93: 10th Anniversary	Two Out of Three Falls	240
46	Dustin Rhodes	Aug 30, 1993	Rick Rude	Saturday Night	Vacant Title Match	119
—	Title Vacated from May 29, 1993 to August 30, 1993 (93 days)
45	Dustin Rhodes	Jan 11, 1993	Ricky Steamboat	Saturday Night 1993	Singles Match	138
Dustin Rhodes’ reign ended after a disputed double pin during his title defense against Rick Rude. Rude was initially declared the winner, but a replay reviewed by the WCW Board of Directors showed that both wrestlers had raised a shoulder before the three-count. WCW then declared the title vacant.
—	Title Vacated from December 1, 1992 to January 11, 1993 (41 days)
44	Rick Rude	Nov 19, 1991	Sting	Clash of the Champions XVII	Singles Match	378
Rude vacated the title on December 1, 1992 because of a neck injury.
43	Sting	Aug 25, 1991	Steve Austin	House show	Tournament Final Match	86
—	Title Vacated from July 14, 1991 to August 25, 1991 (42 days)
Championship renamed to WCW United States Heavyweight Championship on January 1, 1991
42	Lex Luger	Dec 16, 1990	Stan Hansen	Starrcade 1990	Texas Bullrope Match	210
During Luger’s reign, the title was renamed from the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. He later vacated it after winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
41	Stan Hansen	Oct 27, 1990	Lex Luger	Halloween Havoc 1990	Singles Match	50
40	Lex Luger	May 22, 1989	Michael Hayes	House show	Singles Match	523
39	Michael Hayes	May 7, 1989	Lex Luger	WrestleWar 1989	Singles Match	15
38	Lex Luger	Feb 20, 1989	Barry Windham	Chi-Town Rumble 1989	Singles Match	76
37	Barry Windham	May 13, 1988	Nikita Koloff	House show	Tournament Final Match	283
—	Title Vacated from April 9, 1988 to May 13, 1988 (34 days)
36	Dusty Rhodes	Nov 26, 1987	Lex Luger	Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat	Steel Cage Match	135
Dusty Rhodes was stripped of the title after attacking NWA President Jim Crockett with a baseball bat. He was also suspended for 120 days.
35	Lex Luger	Jul 11, 1987	Nikita Koloff	Great American Bash 1987	Steel Cage Match	138
34	Nikita Koloff	Aug 17, 1986	Magnum T.A.	House show	Vacant Title Match	328
—	Title Vacated from May 29, 1986 to August 17, 1986 (80 days)
33	Magnum T.A.	Nov 28, 1985	Tully Blanchard	Starrcade '85: The Gathering	I Quit Steel Cage Match	182
Magnum T.A. was stripped of the belt after attacking NWA president Bob Geigel.
32	Tully Blanchard	Jul 21, 1985	Magnum T.A.	House show	Singles Match	130
31	Magnum T.A.	Mar 23, 1985	Wahoo McDaniel	World Wide Wrestling	Singles Match	120
30	Wahoo McDaniel	Oct 7, 1984	Manny Fernandez	House show	Tournament Final Match	167
—	Title Vacated from July 1, 1984 to October 7, 1984 (98 days)
29	Wahoo McDaniel	Jun 24, 1984	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Singles Match	7
Wahoo McDaniel was stripped of the title due to Tully Blanchard interfering in his title victory over Ricky Steamboat.
28	Ricky Steamboat	Apr 21, 1984	Dick Slater	House show	Singles Match	64
27	Dick Slater	Dec 14, 1983	Greg Valentine	House show	Singles Match	129
26	Greg Valentine	May 1, 1983	Roddy Piper	House show	Singles Match	227
25	Roddy Piper	Apr 16, 1983	Greg Valentine	House show	Singles Match	15
24	Greg Valentine	Nov 4, 1982	Wahoo McDaniel	House show	Singles Match	163
23	Wahoo McDaniel	Aug 22, 1982	Sgt. Slaughter	House show	Singles Match	74
22	Sgt. Slaughter	Jun 7, 1982		House show	Singles Match	76
21	Wahoo McDaniel	May 21, 1982	Sgt. Slaughter	House show	Singles Match	17
20	Sgt. Slaughter	Oct 4, 1981	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Tournament Final Match	229
—	Title Vacated from September 8, 1981 to October 4, 1981 (26 days)
19	Wahoo McDaniel	Aug 8, 1981	Roddy Piper	House show	Singles Match	31
Wahoo McDaniel’s reign ended when the NWA held up the title after Abdullah the Butcher injured him, preventing McDaniel from giving Roddy Piper his contractually required rematch within the 20-day deadline.
18	Roddy Piper	Jan 27, 1981	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	193
–	Ric Flair	Nov 24, 1980	Greg Valentine	House show	Singles Match	64
–	Greg Valentine	Jul 26, 1980	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	121
17	Ric Flair	Apr 19, 1980	Jimmy Snuka	House show	Singles Match	98
16	Jimmy Snuka	Sep 1, 1979	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Tournament Final Match	231
—	Title Vacated from August 12, 1979 to September 1, 1979 (20 days)
15	Ric Flair	Apr 1, 1979	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Singles Match	133
Flair’s reign ended on August 12, 1979 when the title was vacated after he and Blackjack Mulligan won the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
14	Ricky Steamboat	Dec 17, 1978	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	105
13	Ric Flair	Apr 9, 1978	Mr. Wrestling	House show	Singles Match	252
12	Mr. Wrestling	Mar 19, 1978	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	21
11	Blackjack Mulligan	Jan 1, 1978	Ricky Steamboat	House show	Singles Match	77
10	Ricky Steamboat	Oct 21, 1977	Ric Flair	House show	Singles Match	72
9	Ric Flair	Jul 29, 1977	Bobo Brazil	House show	Singles Match	84
8	Bobo Brazil	Jul 7, 1977	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	22
7	Blackjack Mulligan	Dec 15, 1976	Paul Jones	House show	Singles Match	204
–	Paul Jones	Dec 9, 1976	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	6
–	Blackjack Mulligan	Nov 28, 1976	Paul Jones	House show	Singles Match	11
6	Paul Jones	Oct 16, 1976	Blackjack Mulligan	House show	Singles Match	43
5	Blackjack Mulligan	Mar 13, 1976	Paul Jones	House show	Singles Match	217
4	Paul Jones	Nov 27, 1975	Terry Funk	House show	Singles Match	107
3	Terry Funk	Nov 9, 1975	Paul Jones	House show	Tournament Final Match	18
—	Title Vacated from October 4, 1975 to November 9, 1975 (36 days)
2	Johnny Valentine	Jul 3, 1975	Harley Race	House show	Singles Match	93
Valentine’s reign ended when the title was vacated after the injuries he suffered in an October 4, 1975 plane crash ended his wrestling career.
1	Harley Race	Jan 1, 1975	Johnny Weaver	House show	Tournament Final Match	183

NWA and WCW do not recognize these title reigns.

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Historical Reign Leaders

#	Champion	Reigns	Total Days Held	Longest Reign (Days)	Avg. Reign (Days)	% of Career Title Held
1	Bret Hart	4	179	74	45	2.1%
2	Jeff Jarrett	3	184	84	61	1.2%
3	Dustin Rhodes	2	257	138	129	1.8%
3	Steve Austin	2	240	240	120	4.4%
3	Sting	2	234	148	117	1.6%
3	Scott Steiner	2	173	89	87	1.3%
3	Diamond Dallas Page	2	147	112	74	1.3%
3	Lance Storm	2	82	66	41	0.83%
3	Goldberg	2	78	77	39	0.74%
3	Scott Hall	2	66	41	33	0.67%
3	Gen. Rection	2	61	49	31	0.73%
3	Chris Benoit	2	35	34	18	0.23%
13	Rick Rude	1	378	378	378	8%
13	Konnan	1	160	160	160	1.1%
13	Ric Flair	1	141	141	141	1%
13	Booker T	1	128	128	128	1%
13	Curt Hennig	1	104	104	104	0.61%
13	Jim Duggan	1	100	100	100	0.67%
13	Vader	1	88	88	88	0.58%
13	Dean Malenko	1	85	85	85	1%
13	Eddie Guerrero	1	77	77	77	0.52%
13	Kensuke Sasaki	1	44	44	44	0.42%
13	Sid Vicious	1	42	42	42	0.37%
13	Rick Steiner	1	41	41	41	0.3%
13	David Flair	1	35	35	35	0.87%
13	One Man Gang	1	33	33	33	0.27%
13	Ricky Steamboat	1	25	25	25	0.36%
13	Steve McMichael	1	25	25	25	1.4%
13	Shane Douglas	1	22	22	22	0.13%
13	Roddy Piper	1	13	13	13	0.08%
13	Lex Luger	1	3	3	3	0.04%
13	Raven	1	1	1	1	0.01%

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