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The United States Championship has had a storied history dating back to 1975 with champions such as John Cena, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Bret Hart. John Cena earned praise for his US Open Challenges, whereas Randy Orton and Chris Jericho completed their Grand Slams with the championship. The longest cumulative reigning U.S. Champion was Ric Flair, who held the US Championship for over 709 cumulative days to expand his legacy.
Despite winning the United States Championship over Samoa Joe at their Money in the Bank match, albeit with a controversial victory, Mysterio has suffered a shoulder injury that will force him to relinquish the US Championship next week.
However, as the saying goes, "when one door closes, another door opens". While Rey Mysterio will have a short reign, there is a multitude of WWE Superstars waiting for their opportunity to become US Champion.
Despite a rough start in 2019, the US Championship is and continues to be a championship that can elevate WWE Superstars to the next level. Today, we will be taking a look at 5 superstars who could win the U.S. Championship in 2019.
#1 Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt has made the WWE Universe take notice with his new "Firefly Fun House" gimmick.
Wyatt's Fun House videos have been some of the most watched videos on WWE's YouTube channel in recent months.
Wyatt was once a WWE Champion and a 2-time Tag Team Champion on both Smackdown Live and Raw. However, there was always something missing with Wyatt. With his previous cultist gimmick, he was being booked to constantly lose making fans view him as a joke.
With fans being engaged and invested in Bray Wyatt's storyline, it would be optimal to have Wyatt return in the ring to win the recently vacated US Championship.
#2 Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has had a shaky run on the main roster thus far. He was a success in NXT and was one of the top faces of the brand in addition to winning the NXT championship. Once Sami Zayn was called up to the main roster, however, he faced an instant issue: his whole character was based around Kevin Owens.
Although their feud is timeless, Sami Zayn's character was not allowed to evolve beyond a white-meat babyface with a decent theme who loathed Kevin Owens. However, WWE shocked fans in 2017 at Hell in a Cell by turning Zayn heel and forming an alliance with his longtime rival, Kevin Owens.
While this initially was good news for Zayn and his fans, the alliance ultimately led nowhere and ultimately culminated in a somewhat decent tag team match at WrestleMania against Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. Upon coming to Raw, Sami Zayn got injured and was out for 9 months. At this point, Zayn had still not won a single championship on the main roster.
Despite this, upon returning Sami Zayn has done nothing but impress fans and personnel backstage with his promos, including the chairman himself, Vince McMahon. This leaves Zayn as a prime candidate for being the US Championship because the crowd is engaged in what he is saying and boos him quite passionately.
#3 Ricochet
Ricochet debuted on the main roster this year in a strange partnership; he was in a tag team with Aleister Black. Although at first, the tag team had the feeling of yet another makeshift tag team, the team strangely began to work and audiences started reacting to them the same way NXT crowds had reacted to them.
However, due to the Superstar Shakeup, the team was split, and since then, Ricochet has been featured on and off on Raw in 50/50 booking matches against Robert Roode and Cesaro. Despite those matches being good, and Ricochet ultimately winning both feuds, 50/50 booking never works out for a Superstar in the long term.
Ricochet featuring in the Money in the Bank ladder match, however, was a good sign that he will continue to be featured on the main roster prominently. As such, the US Championship is the perfect championship for such a stunning high-flyer such as Ricochet. Ricochet would definitely have great matches for the championship in addition to winning his first main roster championship within his debut year.
#4 Eric Young
Eric Young's stable, SAnitY, recently disbanded due to the 2019 Superstar Shakeup. While this would've opened an opportunity for Eric Young to step out of the shadow of SAnitY stablemates and stand on his own, Young has not had a single match on Raw since he was drafted.
Eric Young is clearly a talented wrestler, evident from his time in TNA and NXT, and should be given the chance to prove himself to the WWE fans. The US Championship is the perfect championship for someone chaotic like Young to grab some attention, while simultaneously creating a name for himself.
#5 Cesaro
Cesaro has won over 7 championships in his main roster run in WWE, which includes 6 Raw Tag Team Championship reigns. He also won the Smackdown Tag Team Championships with Sheamus on the 1000th episode of Smackdown Live. In addition, he had a lengthy US Championship reign.
Cesaro was surprisingly split from Sheamus during the Superstar Shakeup, due to the latter's injury, ending the Bar, and setting Cesaro on course for singles competition.
Since coming to Raw, Cesaro has been given a new theme, in addition to better and deserved booking, winning over the likes of Cedric Alexander and Ricochet, as well as putting up a great fight against Rey Mysterio.
Unlike most of the Superstars on this list, Cesaro is the only Superstar who has won the US Championship, further increasing his chances for winning the championship. Not only will winning the US Championship further boost his current momentum, but it will also lead to great potential match-ups with fellow mid-carders.
