5 WWE Superstars who could be the next United States Champions

The United States Championship has had a long and storied history. Introduced in the year 1975 by Jim Crockett Jr, Harley Race was the inaugural holder of the title. Since then, a plethora of wrestling legends and WWE Hall of Famers have held the title. Some of the most prominent names include the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Sting, Goldberg, and Ric Flair.

The title was created and defended in Jim Crockett Jr's Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW), which was later purchased by the media mogul Ted Turner and re-branded into World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where it served as a secondary championship to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and later the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

There are 92 different US Championship runs, with WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair having the distinction of the most number reigns at 5. Shinsuke Nakamura is the current United States Champion, having won the title at Extreme Rules on July 15, 2018.

Nakamura's run has been a bit lukewarm to say the least, as the WWE hasn't been able to produce a long-term opponent for the self-proclaimed 'President of NakAmerica'. But with the arrival of Rey Mysterio, it seems like the reign of 'The King of Strong Style' will eventually come to an end at the hands of Mysterio.

With that being said, here are 5 superstars who we think could win the US title in the near future.

#5 Rey Mysterio

This past Tuesday on SmackDown 1000, Rey Mysterio made his much awaited WWE return as he faced the United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura for a spot in the WWE World Cup. Mysterio was able to weather the early storm, and went on to defeat the US Champion and seal his spot in the WWE World Cup.

Rumors have begun surfacing that the feud between Nakamura and Mysterio is going to continue, with the duo advertised for a US title match at WWE's Starrcade event in November.

Nakamura and Mysterio are arguably two of the best in-ring performers in the company right now, and if done properly, their feud will be nothing short of box office gold.

Mysterio is the perfect candidate to replace Nakamura as the US Champion, as someone like him can put the title back in the spotlight. Nakamura has been the champion for over 3 months, but his title run sadly has been disappointing so far.

Considering the fact that this will most likely be Mysterio's last run in the company, the company needs to put their might behind The Master of 619, as he will undoubtedly make the championship relevant, and bring it back from the slump that it is currently in.

#4 Rusev

If there's one superstar on SmackDown whom the fans love and adore as much as Mysterio, it is The Bulgarian Brute, Rusev. In spite of being a great in-ring performer and solid promo guy, Rusev hasn't had that breakout moment on the blue bland.

While his Extreme Rules match against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship was a refreshing change, fans always knew that Rusev wouldn't be victorious in that match.

Rusev is currently feuding with former hype man Aiden English, and we hope that he crushes The Drama King, putting an end to what could've been a solid partnership which came to a screeching halt due to the company's reluctance to push the former US Champion as a top babyface.

Once he is done with English, we expect Rusev to go after the US title. Rusev has been one of the best US Champions in the last five years, and held the title with pride, prestige, and honor. It is the only title Rusev has won on the main roster, and we hope that he gets another run as the US Champion.

#3 Andrade 'Cien' Almas

Andrade Cien Almas with his business manager Zelina Vega

One of the brightest blue chip prospects in the company, the former La Sombra seems destined for greatness inside a WWE ring. Almas has had quite the career in the WWE, starting out on NXT in 2015.

After a great start in the yellow brand, The Mexican Sensation went through a dull phase before his resurgence in the yellow brand which saw him win the NXT Championship, and had one of the best matches of the year against Johnny Gargano at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia earlier this year.

With his business manager, Zelina Vega by his side, Almas came from being an enhancement talent to being one of the biggest stars in NXT. Almas and Vega were called up to the main roster following WrestleMania 34, and their main roster run hasn't been good so far.

While Almas has shown signs of his brilliance in matches against the likes of AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, the duo have been a victim of 50-50 booking, and being put in meaningless feuds which have certainly put a dent on their reputation after the stellar year they had in NXT.

Almas is one of the brightest talents on the main roster, and we see a future world champion in the former luchador. He has all the tools to be the next big Hispanic superstar in the company after Rey Mysterio.

Winning the US title will be a perfect start for the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and if his NXT title run is anything to go by, we are in for one hell of a ride.

#2 Eric Young

A veteran of the business, Eric Young is a TNA/Impact original, having been in the company for over a decade from 2004 to 2016 where he won every possible championship in the company. Young finally signed with the WWE in 2016, and made his NXT debut on May 4 by challenging the then NXT Champion Samoa Joe to a match which he lost by submission.

After being out of NXT TV for months, Young would made a surprise return to the yellow brand and formed the stable 'SAnitY'. They finally saw championship gold after defeating The Authors of Pain at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 3. Sanity would lose the tag titles to The Undisputed Era a few months later on an episode of NXT.

Eric Young and SAnitY minus their twisted sister, Nikki Cross, were called up to the main roster during the Superstar Shake-up following WrestleMania 34.

SAnitY's main roster run has been a train wreck of epic proportions, which has seen one of the most dominating forces in NXT lose most of their TV matches, and not even getting featured on the main card of a pay-per-view since their debut.

SAnitY was one of the best things about NXT. Having Young win the US title will be a step in the right direction, as someone of his stature is the perfect fit for the title. With Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain winning the SmackDown tag titles as well, we would get to see the SAnitY that we had hoped for.

#1 Kofi Kingston

One of the most underrated performers in the WWE, Kofi Kingston is also one of the longest-tenured active performers in the WWE. Although he is known primarily as a tag team specialist, Kingston is an accomplished singles star, having won both the Intercontinental and the United States Championship on multiple occasions.

Kingston has had one of the best runs of his career so far in The New Day, as the trio have reached various milestones, and broken numerous records.

With The New Day dropping the SmackDown tag team championship to The Bar this past Tuesday, this is the perfect time to let Kingston have that singles run he deserves. This doesn't necessarily mean the end of The New Day, as we believe the company wouldn't risk breaking the trio up, as they are one of the biggest cash cows in the company.

Instead of breaking them up, Woods and Big E can go after the tag titles, while Kingston challenges for the United States Championship. Seeing all three members of The New Day hold championship gold will be a sight to behold. Kingston's loyalty towards the company over the years should put him in the hunt for the title.