For a long while in wrestling, various promotions had a United States Championship. It just rolled off the tongue and a title with a patriotic feel to it appealed to fans. Eventually, the Mid-Atlantic region’s version grew to prominence to become the main US Title as the promotion turned into WCW. It was the number two belt in the company, often going to great workers. WWE revived it in 2003 and it’s remained a top title since.

Obviously, there have been some bad workers holding the belt over the years. However, it’s more notable how some were very disliked and not just for being heels or bad in the ring. They were often good workers and popular, but as actual U.S. champions, fans were turned off to them. There were also guys with bad personal stuff that made them more unlikeable as champs. It says a lot in the long history of the belt that these rank as the ten least likable guys to hold it and show how tough it is for some wrestlers to win fans over.

10 The Sheik's Selfishness Turned Fans Off

Worse Than His Hardcore Wrestling Was His Booking

While most think of the WCW version of the U.S. title, other territories had their own versions. One of the biggest was Detroit, and that was almost always held by Ed Farhat, aka the Sheik. A pioneer of hardcore wrestling, the Sheik dominated the Detroit version of the U.S. title, mostly because he owned the promotion.

It was easy to hate the Sheik because of his brutality yet there were real-life reasons to dislike him. The guy refused to lose cleanly and rarely put others over in his losses. He held the belt over a dozen times and a version of it in ICW as well. He was a legend for hardcore wrestling yet the selfish booking and sticking to old formula didn’t win the Sheik as many fans as U.S. champion.

9 Jeff Jarrett's Reigns Began The Fans' Dislike Of Him

"The Chosen One" Didn't Win Fans Over In WCW

No one can deny Jeff Jarrett is a good worker with charisma, but he was always better as a midcard guy rather than World Champion. Something about Jarrett has long rubbed fans the wrong way and that went back to 1997 when he was obnoxiously trying to join the Four Horsemen. That included winning the U.S. title and doing the same stupid struts as he had in WWE.

Jarrett made his WCW return in 1999 with that new attitude, winning the belt fast. He had to vacate it due to an injury and then awarded it back when he returned for a forgettable 84-day reign. It was the start of the push of Jarrett in WCW as the “Chosen One” that eventually saw him become a multiple-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

8 Fans Didn't Want JBL With Another Title

His Run As WWE Champion Had Been Bad Enough

In 2006, fans were still recuperating from JBL’s long run as WWE Champion. The company was still trying to push him into main event programs despite how fans were ready to see him fade away. Thus, having him win the U.S. title at WrestleMania 22 wasn’t something fans responded well to, especially blatant cheating to do it.

From the start, his reign was treated as secondary to other feuds, with few title defenses. JBL spent more time on the mic boasting of his greatness while doing little to elevate the title. He held it for less than two months before dropping it to Bobby Lashley. Seeing JBL with another title wasn’t something fans in 2006 were begging for.

7 General Rection Is Hated For Many Reasons

Even Then, Folks Didn't Like The Guy

Given what we now know about Bill DeMott, calling him unlikeable is the lightest accusation. Even in his wrestling days, DeMott wasn’t someone fans could get behind, especially in WCW with its idiotic moves. After time as Hugh Morrus, he was transformed into General Rection, part of the Misfits in Action.

He got two runs as United States Champion, which lasted less than a combined 60 days, with fans not taking to this nutty character or his bad matches. The guy was lost in the shuffle of WCW, so granting him their second-biggest title was a bad move, even for a bad time. In real life, it’s no surprise DeMott’s run as champ has become more hated now than it was back then.

6 Jim Duggan's Win Over Steve Austin Was Controversial

The Circumstances Ensured Hacksaw's Reign Failed

It’s not that Jim Duggan was that bad a guy, it’s the circumstances surrounding his U.S. title win in 1994 that made him so disliked. Steve Austin was awarded the belt when champion Ricky Steamboat was injured. Duggan, barely wrestling for WCW before this, was suddenly announced as his opponent. It took one backdrop and a lame cover for Duggan to win the title in about 20 seconds.

So Austin, a guy clearly ready for a bigger push and a stellar heel champion, dropped the belt in less than a minute to one of Hulk Hogan’s old buddies. That bad step ruined Duggan’s entire reign, with fans turning on it fast. So much so that Vader was cheered when he ended Duggan's reign at Starrcade 1994. Also, it helped drive Austin out of WCW in the process.

5 Steve McMichael Was A Worse Wrestler Than Commentator

Mongo Wasn't Suited For The Belt

His recent health woes do have folks seeing Steve McMichael in a more sympathetic light, and Chicago Bears fans still revere the guy. Yet that doesn’t take away from how, as soon as he showed up in WCW, “Mongo” drove fans crazy with some of the worst commentary in WCW history (which is saying something). Then he started wrestling and actually becoming a member of the Four Horsemen.

In his defense, McMichael was better in the ring and put over by the other Horsemen, but fans didn’t care about his pushes, including his run as United States Champion. It was a short reign before losing to Curt Hennig, while “Mongo” can rank near the top of lists for the least popular Horsemen ever.

4 Michael Hayes Never Worked As A Singles Champion

He Was Better Suited For Tag Team Wrestling

As part of the Fabulous Freebirds, Michael Hayes was an absolute star. He was one of the best mic guys of his time, flashy, and aided the team in their feuds. But when it came to his singles work, Hayes was never at the same level, a great talker but not as fun in the ring. So having him beat Lex Luger for the U.S. title in 1989 was one of the most baffling moves for WCW.

Hayes as a singles champion just wasn’t a good fit and even WCW had to recognize that as he lost the title right back to Luger two weeks later. Hayes and Jimmy Garvin formed a new Freebirds for a few tag titles as fans much better enjoyed Hayes in a tag team than holding any singles title.

3 Alberto Del Rio's Second WWE Run Was Forgettable

Del Rio's Runs With The United States Title Were Far From Impressive

WWE seemed to think Alberto Del Rio was going to be the next megastar only to suffer one of the biggest crash and burns in recent years. After weird runs as World Champion and a bizarre face turn in his first WWE run, Del Rio left in a cloud in 2014 and swiftly flushed what goodwill he might have had with his behavior. He returned at Hell in the Cell 2015 to upset John Cena for the United States Championship.

So fans were already a bit ticked, but then came his alliance with Zeb Coulter and the “Mex-America” angle that did him no favors. Given his bad backstage rep, having Del Rio pushed like this was awful and his later exit from WWE only added to how making him United States Champion was a bad move.

2 Stan Hansen Loved Being Disliked

His WCW Run Is Mostly Ignored