The United States Championship is a huge one in WWE with a lot of history, as many former World Champions and Hall Of Famers having held this title. While it is a major achievement to win that, the majority of the time it is seen as something that is a stepping stone for a wrestler to then become a WWE Champion down the line.
But while many wrestlers have managed to achieve that, there are plenty of former United States Champions that have failed to kick on after that to reach the next level as performers during their time in the business.
9 Tajiri
Tajiri was an incredible professional wrestler, and someone who could put on a fantastic match with anybody due to his in-ring ability. His striking was fantastic to watch as he moved around at a great pace, and that is something that allowed him to have a great career in the industry.
He is a former United States Champion, and he was only the second ever person to hold the title once it had moved to WWE. However, even though he proved himself at that point, he never kicked on to get to the next level as a World Champion in the company.
8 Rhyno
Rhyno was a hard-hitting wrestler who had some fantastic matches and moments throughout his career, and he was able to hold plenty of gold throughout his time in the business. He had the look of a World Champion with the strength and power that he brought, but it never translated to him holding one in WWE.
Despite that, Vince McMahon did book him to be a champion plenty of times throughout his years on the roster, which included the United States Championship. It was a great moment for him individually, but the next level was something he couldn't reach.
7 Carlito
Carlito is one of the most iconic United States Champions of all time, and someone who fans felt would kick on after winning the title as he had a lot of hype and potential surrounding him. He was a great talker and someone who worked well inside the ring, and most people thought he would kick on to bigger and better things.
Despite that, Carlito never ended up reaching those levels, and instead, he spent his WWE career working in the mid-card or the tag team division. Even though he was a good worker, Carlito was never someone that managed to capture the World Championship.
6 Finlay
Finlay was another entertaining United States Champion and a vastly experienced worker who was capable of putting on an excellent encounter with anybody he shared the ring with. He was physical inside the ring, and didn't hold back with anything that he did during matches.
That made him ideal to be the United States Champion as he was capable of entertaining fans whenever he was in action, but he never got pushed into the main event scene throughout his WWE career, staying away from the World Title scene.
5 Matt Hardy
While Jeff Hardy is a multi-time World Champion in WWE, and Matt Hardy was able to hold the World Championship for Impact Wrestling, but when it came to WWE he was never able to capture the World Title. He was always somebody that people felt had the potential, particularly with his ability to adapt to different gimmicks.
However, Vince McMahon seemingly never saw him in that manner, which led to Matt always being used as a mid-card talent during his career with WWE.
4 Rusev
Rusev won the United States Championship early on in his run on the main roster, and he was pushed as a dominant star in the company with his undefeated run. Fans thought he would end up being pushed into the main event as a top monster, and that is exactly what should have happened.
However, while he ended up having a fantastic career in WWE, the main event spots were something that he never quite reached. Being a WWE Champion would have been accepted by any wrestling fan at the time, but it wasn't in his path.
3 Cesaro
The lack of singles titles that Cesaro held in WWE is shocking considering he is one of the best wrestlers in the world, but he was able to capture the United States Championship during his career. However, he was a guy that the company never truly got behind in as a singles act.
Even though he often had huge support from the 'Cesaro section,' it wasn't enough for the creative team to give him a push to the World Title. He came closest during his feud with Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship, but the Tribal Chief picked up an impressive victory against the King Of Swing.
2 MVP
MVP has always had the gift of gab, and cutting excellent promos has made him one of the most entertaining men of his generation, and he could always back that up inside the ring. However, being a main event player was never something that WWE had in store for him, even though he was always able to get a response from the fans.
A stint as the World Heavyweight Champion on SmackDown is something that fans would certainly have enjoyed, and it could have led to him kicking on to the next level, but his role was always kept to a mid-card act.
1 Orlando Jordan
Orlando Jordan is one of the weakest United States Champions in the history of the company, as he is somebody that a lot of fans have likely completely forgotten about when it comes to holding the title. Despite that, he did get a 173-day reign as champion back in 2005, which was the highlight of his career.
It wasn't a huge surprise that Jordan didn't kick on to become a World Champion for the company though, as he never had the ability or charisma to work at that level, as he simply wasn't over enough with the fans.