17 Former WWE United States Champions Who Never Won A World Title
9. Santino Marella
Another European wrestler to feature on this list is 'The Milan Miracle' Santino Marella. After he won the Intercontinental Championship on debut, it seemed like the company had big plans in store for him. However, once he lost the title, he became a lower mid-card talent.
Santino received a surprising push in 2011 when he replaced Randy Orton in the world heavyweight title match at Elimination Chamber. Marella stayed in the bout till the end before Daniel Bryan eliminated him.
Soon, he won the United States belt from Jack Swagger and had a 167-day long reign as champion. As mentioned ahead, Cesaro took the title away from him as Marella returned to the lower mid-card once again.
The Ontario-based star retired in 2014. He has appeared sporadically on WWE TV with his most recent appearance coming in the 2020 women's Royal Rumble match. The former US Champion entered the match at #29, thereby becoming the first male to join the multi-woman bout.