10 Longest Reigning United States Champions Ever

By Jamie Kennedy / April 19, 2016

The United States Title was formed way back in 1975, primarily as a regional championship to be defended in the Jim Crockett promoted Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

The incomparable Harley Race would be the first titleholder, calling the belt his own for 183 days, before losing it to Johnny Valentine.

That 183 day reign may seem impressive, but it's actually nowhere near the longest. The United States Title has also found homes in the NWA, WCW and WWE over the years, and to date (including Kalisto, the current champion) no less than 81 men have held the championship.

Race will always be remembered as the first champion in the history of the secondary title, but his reign will not be remembered as the most lengthy. In fact, the shortest reign included on this list is 48 days longer than Handsome Harley's!

With that in mind, let's take a look at the men who held the United States Title the longest in a single, uninterrupted reign...

10. Jimmy Snuka (231 Days)

Jimmy Snuka became a star in the WWF of the 1980's, but he was a title winner long before making the move to New York. 

On September 1, 1979, he defeated Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final to become the brand new United States Champion. The popular star from the Fiji Islands would go on to have quite the run, when all was said and done. 

During that first reign with the title (Snuka would only have a solitary run with the belt under the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling banner), the man also formed a tag-team with Ray Stevens. 

He'd hold the title up until April 19, 1980, when he was defeated by Ric Flair at a house show. The subsequent reign of Flair's wouldn't be anywhere close to his longest, and certainly didn't match Snuka's.

In total, Snuka's time as US Champion lasted 231 days.

Ironically, the man just behind him on the list of lengthy reigns, Sgt. Slaughter (229 days) also defeated Steamboat during a tournament final held in 1981.