wrestling / Columns
The 411 Wrestling Top 5 09.07.11: Week 140 – Top United States Champions
Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. Most of our topics will be based on recent events in the Wrestling World, looking at those events that make us think of times past.
So, on to this week’s topic…
SHAWN S. LEALOS
5. Tully Blanchard – Tully Blanchard only held the U.S. Title once but he was the bad guy who fought for the title when I first started watching wrestling. He was always second to World Champion Ric Flair but always seemed to be on the same talent level making the U.S. title seem important. That is something that is lacking today as the U.S. Champion is nowhere near as important as it used to be.
4. Magnum TA – At the same time that Tully Blanchard was holding the U.S. title for 130 days, it was Magnum TA that was the baby face chasing that belt. The two put on some of the best matches I saw at the time. Plus, in the NWA, the belt was a stepping-stone to the World Championship. His feud with the Four Horsemen, and particularly Tully Blanchard, primed him for an eventual World Championship run. A horrendous car wreck ruined those plans, but Magnum TA remains one of the most popular US Champions in the title’s history.
3. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat – Before he went to the WWE and proved to be a huge superstar, Rick Steamboat was one of the bright young talents in the NWA. He held the U.S. title four times, mostly feuding with another young talent named Ric Flair for the belt. He held almost every title the NWA had to offer and was one of the most talented wrestlers to ever hold the U.S. title.
2. ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair – I mentioned with Magnum TA that the NWA used the U.S. title to groom future World title holders and this is where Ric Flair learned to be a champion. His first U.S. title win came six months after a plane crash almost killed him. He ended up holding the belt on five different occasions and, finally, Jim Crockett decided it was time to move him up to the World title in 1981. He held the belt one more time 15 years later when he beat Konnan in WCW.
1. Lex Luger – He is not the best wrestler on this list. However, Lex Luger held the U.S. title at one time for 523 days (May 22, 1989 to October 27, 1990). It was not an empty title reign (see Honky Tonk Man and the Intercontinental title). He defended the belt regularly and just never lost. Like Flair, they were grooming Luger for the World Championship, which he won in WCW. He held the U.S. Championship on four different occasions for a combined 947 days (that’s 2 1/2 years). His last title reign was only for one day, but he beat Bret Hart for the belt. While he is not the best wrestler on this list, he is the greatest United States champion of all time.
Jack Stevenson
Chris Benoit – With five title reigns to his name, spread across WCW and WWE, you can’t deny that on in ring merit alone, Benoit deserves a mention.
Harley Race – The first ever U.S Champion. It wasn’t exactly a glorious run, but he deserves recognition.
M.V.P – Perhaps the last U.S Champion to have actually achieved something with the belt. His yearlong reign encompassed a wildly entertaining feud with Matt Hardy, as well as a trio of good matches against Chris Benoit.
5. John Cena – Controversy! OK, Cena didn’t exactly have tons of quality matches, but it’s worth noting that he was one of perhaps only two wrestlers that used the WWE’s version of the US Title to catapult himself into the main event. Combine that with his memorable (for good or for bad) feud against Carlito in the winter of 2004, and the fact that his time as US Champion was the last that he had the full support of the audience, and you’ve got a worthy number five.
4. Ric Flair – I can’t in good conscience put him any higher, because no one but the most ardent NWA fans truly remembers him for his U.S Title reigns. Still, he carried it with distinction through the late seventies and early eighties, engaging in bloody wars with Greg Valentine and laying the groundwork for his celebrated feuds with Ricky Steamboat later on.
3. Lance Storm – Personal preference wins out here. Possibly the only good thing about 2000 WCW was Lance’s monopoly of the midcard championships. Renaming the belt “The Canadian Heavyweight Title” and tussling with Terry Funk and the Misfits in Action among others, this stage in Lance’s career should be pointed to as prove that, when utilized correctly, he’s so much more than a bland technical wrestler.
2. Eddie Guerrero – His forgettable time as champion in WCW pales in comparison to his wonderfully realized run as the first ever WWE United States Champion. His ‘Lie, Cheat, Steal’ character, originally intended to make him a hated heel, made him one of the most popular characters in the WWE, and the United States Championship came at the perfect time for him, and allowed him to take on a variety of opponents. Pushing him to number two is the way in which he won it, a fantastic (if overbooked) opener from Vengeance 2003 against Chris Benoit.
1. Ricky Steamboat – The perfect United States Champion. Immensely popular with the fans. Tons of great matches. Worthwhile stints that contributed to the legacy of the title. His aforementioned series with Flair should be YouTubed, while his attempts to get Steve Austin over as a singles star in 1994 are also commendable. Oozing class in and out the ring, Ricky could probably contribute more to the WWE holding this championship that any of the interchangeable ‘superstars’ that make up the current US Title scene.
Ryan Byers
HM – David Flair: I LOVED the angle in which David Flair held the United States Title. I loved it because I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many supposedly “smart” fans get worked into giving an angle exactly the reaction that bookers wanted it to get . . . pure, unadulterated hatred for David as the undeserving titleholder.
HM – Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane): Most people forget that a United States Tag Team Title existed, and I doubt that we’ll ever get a Top 5 column to sing its praises. As such, I figured that I would use this opportunity to give a nod to the Midnights’ work with those straps, which produced as many awesome matches as their reigns with the World Tag Team Titles did.
HM – Bobo Brazil: Also often forgotten is the fact that WWE had a United States Title prior to 2003. In fact, such a belt existed in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and its most prolific holder was Bobo Brazil. Bobo was a true pioneer for African Americans in professional wrestling, and he was one of the most popular WWE (or rather WWWF) performers of the period behind perpetual world champion Bruno Sammartino. And, if you want to get technical, he did also hold the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling United States Title that the current WWE version presumably traces its roots back to.
5. John Cena – For years in WCW, the announcers put over the idea that the United States Champion was the de facto number one contender, the man who was supposed to be right behind the World Heavyweight Champion in terms of skill. After a while, that concept was completely thrown out the window, and, around the same time, secondary championships in wrestling promotions ceased being a way to actually elevate wrestlers and instead turned in to a means to generate feuds that killed time before the REAL stars showed up. Perhaps the last great example of the US Champion being a legitimate number two guy who went on to become a main event level performer was John Cena. Cena was synonymous with the strap in 2004, beating the Big Show for it in front of an ultra-hot Wrestlemania XX crowd, feuding over it with Booker T. in a best of five series, and even briefly dropping it to Carlito in a move that gave the latter guy instant credibility (before Carly flushed it all down the toilet, anyway). Nowadays, Cena is perhaps the most popular man in all of professional wrestling, and can be traced directly back to his US Title reigns.
4. Roddy Piper – People who only watched wrestling during the Monday Night Wars are probably asking why I chose to acknowledge Piper when he only had a two week reign, beating Bret Hart and losing to Scott Hall in ugly, ugly matches. However, there was a Roddy Piper before he became an international superstar as a result of the Rock n’ Wrestling Connection, and there was a United States Title back then as well. In fact, Piper had two runs as US Champ in the early 1980’s, both of them more memorable than his reign in the late 1990’s. Piper first defeated Ric Flair for the championship. Though he dropped it to Wahoo McDaniel a bit later in the same year, it wouldn’t be much longer until the Hot Scot reclaimed his prize, besting rival Greg Valentine in 1982. Perhaps the most memorable part of this second reign was the fact that it gave rise to the blood feud between Roddy and Valentine, with the Hammer regaining the title by referee’s decision when a cut over Piper’s ear rendered him unable to continue in a championship defense. That injury became an integral part of the story of the legendary Starrcade dog collar match between the two men, and the rest, as they say, is history.
3. Lex Luger – Like Piper, Luger is one of those guys who got the US Title handed to him during the heyday of Monday Nitro, though his work with the title a decade earlier was significantly better. Between 1987 and 1989, the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions were seemingly priming Flexy Lexy to become THE man, essentially their answer to Hulk Hogan. As a result, he managed to have four US Title reigns during which he got to defend against some of the best opponents imaginable, including Stan Hansen, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Barry Windham. Though he would later become a noted stiff, Luger was more than holding up his end of the bargain during this period and becoming quite the formidable contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, when he ultimately got the big gold belt, he floundered and never fully recovered. However, you can’t fault the build with the United States Championship that got him to that level.
2. Ric Flair – The pattern continues, as Flair won the United States Title against Konnan in 1996 but was actually a far more prolific champion in another era. It was in the late 1970’s and 1980 that Flair first started to take hold in the Carolinas, and it was largely a result of his United States Title runs in that territory. Though he initially defeated Bobo Brazil for the title, Flair’s more famous championship feuds came against former tag team partner Greg Valentine, the legendary Mr. Wrestling II, and Jimmy Snuka, who was a violent brawler and not yet the cartoon that he would become once Hulkamania took hold of wrestling. Heck, Flair even went toe-to-toe with the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers, during this period. Perhaps more important than any of these feuds was the fact that Flair as United States Champion in the late 1970’s gave us the FIRST iteration of the Ric Flair/Ricky Steamboat feud that would go on to become one of the greatest rivalries in professional wrestling history.
1. Ricky Steamboat – Of course, Steamer also gets some credit here for the previously referenced Nature Boy/Dragon feud as well as great matches against the likes of Sergeant Slaughter and “Dirty” Dick Slater. What is it, though, that gives Steamboat the edge over Flair for the top spot? Remember that pattern that I’ve mentioned throughout this list? The one in which a guy has an awesome series of US Title reigns in the 70’s or 80’s and then has a disappointing reign or two in the 90’s? Well, Ricky Steamboat bucks that trend. He was an awesome United States Champion in the 1970’s, he was an awesome United States Champion in the 1980’s, AND he as an awesome United States Champion in the 1990’s. Steamboat’s final run with the title came in 1994 as part of a feud with a young “Stunning” Steve Austin, and the two men had a series of matches that absolutely put Austin on the map as a singles worker. For longevity as a US Champion, awesome matches throughout his various reigns, and helping to create the biggest star in wrestling history in the process, Ricky Steamboat takes top honors from me.
Greg DeMarco
5. MVP – The lone WWE talent to make my Top 5, MVP held the United States Championship for 343 days, the third longest reign in the history of the championship. He defeated Chris Benoit in 2 straight falls at Judgment Day 2007, a match that MVP still talks about today as meaning so much to him personally. Benoit put in a lot of work with MVP, and wanted to put him over in 2 straight falls. In an era where 2-3 months are more of a norm, a near yearlong reign can’t be overlooked.
4. Rick Rude – “Ravishing” Rick Rude was the lead talent in a stable, and did so holding the United States Championship. This is a great example of what should have been done with Wade Barrett in the original Nexus. On top of that. Rude held the belt for 387, the second longest reign in the title’s history. Rude’s reign built him up into a main eventer, one who should have been a legit world champion (not the weird international version).
3. Magnum TA – Magnum had two runs as the United States Champion, and it built him into the future world champion (even if it never came to pass). Magnum won the belt from Wahoo McDaniel, holding it for 120 days before dropping the title to Tully Blanchard. This lead to their legendary I-Quit Steel Cage Match at Starrcade ’85. This lead to Magnum’s second reign, lasting 182 days before he snapped and attacked NWA president Bob Geigel. This built to the best of seven series with Nikita Koloff that made Magnum the best bet to be their future world champion (see #1 for more).
2. (TIE) Ric Flair – Flair is the perfect example of how a mid-card champion should be used. He had five US title reigns before being elevated to the world championship. He was built by defending the belt all over the country in multiple territories, as well as on television. He received world title shots as US champion. When he got elevated, he was ready. The rest is history.
2. (TIE) Lex Luger – Yes, I’m cheating. Lex Luger held the United States Championship for 948 days, the longest of any competitor. He also boasts the longest single reign in championship history, 523 days in 1989-90. Lex Luger will never be remembered as the greatest wrestler that ever lived, but he built a great following as a face after leaving the Horsemen. His Starrcade ‘87 defense against Dusty Rhodes in a steel cage was a classic bit of storytelling from the old Crockett promotion, and Luger was a big part of that. Luger’s only world title run should have come in a win against Yokozuna (that never properly happened), instead of his WCW wins. But Luger was a perfect US Champion, and should be considered one of the best in history.
1. Nikita Koloff – Nikita’s run was outstanding, and very underrated. Magnum T A won the title from Tully Blanchard in the aforementioned Steel Cage I-Quit Match at Starrcade ’85. The title was vacated thanks to Magnum’s attack on NWA President Bob Geigel, and Magnum faced hated Russian Nikita in a best of seven. Nikita went up 3-0, leading Magnum to make a huge comeback—only to lose to the Russian in the seventh match. This arc was carried throughout the 1986 Great American Bash, and the hatred that fans had at the mere thought of a hated Russian holding the US Championship was insane. When Nikita won, many fans viewed him as holding the belt hostage. The best of seven series also built Magnum into the guy who could win the belt from Ric Flair at Starrcade ’86. That all changed when Magnum’s career came to a tragic end. Nikita turned face, and managed to garner 100% fans support headed into his title shot against Flair at Starrcade ’86.
Scott Rutherford
M.V.P – His feud with Benoit really tried to make the title seem important because MVP made everyone think it was worth fighting hard to win.
John Cena – He helped establish the revived title around 2003. Was his first major singles title.
Steve Austin – When people crap on about WCW not giving Austin a proper run you can always mention he had one of the longest runs with US championship. Sure shit happened but he was given a fair shot at one time.
5. Rick Rude – Won the title and held it for over a year and only lost the title when he was injured. It’s often been said that Rick Rude was one of the few times that WCW managed to actually use a guy better than Vince did. It’s a shame things like the International Title and the lack of a true world championship run never happened for Rude and even his US title run is barely mentioned. Go back and look at his run, look at the matches and you tell my why he doesn’t get more props?
4. Ric Flair – Before he became The Man he was a multi-time US Champion waiting for his time to take the crown from Harley Race. During his time as #2 he had unbelievable feuds with Rick Steamboat, Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper. Flash forward to the mid-90’s and he ramps it up one more time beats Konnan for another reign. As with most secondary titles, the men that hold it define it’s credibility and with Flair as champion, it was an extremely prestigious championship to have.
3. Greg Valentine – Greg was just a great US Champion and engaged in one of the most brutally awesome matches with Roddy Piper that lead to a lengthy 228 day reign. Greg was always going to be a super-strong #2 champion because he never had that “it” factor to really be that main event star. He also had the great association with Ric Flair and being a legit second-generation star before it became an industry buzzword. Solid, dependable, supremely talented and a perfect US Champion.
2. Magnum T.A & Nikita Koloff – Some will call this a cheat but in my mind, these two and their battle over the US Title became entwined and set in motion so much in the career of Nikita Koloff. Their Best of Seven series just prior to Magnums career ending car accident was classic passing of the torch stuff as Magnum was about to became World Champion. But post accident, Koloff managed to become quite the over babyface and it would be anyone’s guess what would have happened if he Magnum didn’t end his career so early. While certainly Magnum had his run prior to Koloff and Koloff had his turn to shine post winning the title, for me these two go hand in hand when talking about great US Champions.
1. Lex Luger – Lex is a multiple time world champion, one of the biggest draws for the NWA/WCW in the late 80’s early 90’s and he will forever be “tainted” as a perennial second tier champ. I suppose it was the fact he ascended to that level so quickly and he was positioned neatly underneath Ric Flair around 1987 as the shock new member of The Four Horsemen. It may be he was never given the NWA World Heavyweight Championship ball when he was at his absolute hottest. It may also be the fact the he has the longest single reign of any US Champion at a whopping 523 days. Whatever the reason, The Total Package will always be synonymous with the US Title.
Wes Kirk
HM – Harley Race: The first US champion who would go on to main event all over the country.
HM – MVP: He tried to make the title mean something again.
HM – Magnum T.A: Imagine what he could have done if not for that car accident.
5. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper – Before he was the microphone king in the WWF, Piper worked down South in the NWA and had a rather good feud with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, fighting him on numerous occasions and getting his ear legitimately damaged for life during the Dog Collar And Chain Match at the first Starrcade. Piper competed with some of the best wrestlers in the world during his US title days including Ric Flair, who he defeated for his first championship, and Wahoo McDaniel. After seeing his performance as champion, a certain promotion up north came calling and Piper was put in the big time.
4. Eddie Guerrero – Eddie was one of the more interesting US champions in history as he had the belt in two separate times of his career from his early days in a less organized fashion to his breakout heel performance as the man who lies, cheats, and steals. Eddie would wrestle against wrestlers like Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle and become part of the infamous Smackdown Six, as well as getting enough confidence behind him as the champion to end up a WWE Champion in 2004.
3. Ric Flair – Before he main evented across the NWA, Ric was a multi-time US Champion who helped make himself and various other talent look good in matches that sometimes became draws and showcased his wrestling excellence. Flair was one of the early champions who actually got title shots against the world champion for having the US belt, which was considered automatic number one contendership years ago. Flair helped define the NWA and later WCW as not only a US champion but also as the World Champion for many years.
2. Lex Luger – One of the greatest changes in Lex Luger came in the late 1980’s as Luger was repackaged to become a rotten heel, and the first to have an “Attitude Adjustment” finisher which was a piledriver he would use during his world champion days. The dreaded Torture Rack and his eventual elevation into the Four Horsemen made Luger into a big deal relatively quickly, and his defenses against Ric Flair, Sting, Muta, and many others would keep Luger in the mind of promoters as they considered future world champions. Luger would go on to become the top champion and then fled to the WWF, although it was his heelwork as a US champion that brought him to the attention of the top brass. Luger held the US championship for the longest time of any competitor to this day, although he’d never take his rightful place as WWF champion.
1. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat – Ricky Steamboat had the best of everything a champion could need: He could put on terrific matches with basically anybody who wrestled him, he was a beatable champion and people knew he could lose on any given match, he had the crowd firmly behind him, and he fought against some of the top names in the world. It was Steamboat who would help Steve Austin get his first big singles break in WCW, and Steamboat actually held the US title in three separate decades from 1970-1994. His feud with Ric Flair was legendary, and it was the early US title run that would help Steamboat become a world champion later in his career.
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