When was the last time Randy Orton won the United States Championship? Revisiting his title reign and how it ended

Randy Orton has won 20 Championships in WWE, and 14 of them are world championships. Among the remaining six, he has won the Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship, World Tag Team Championship, SmackDown Tag Team Championship once, and the RAW Tag Team Championship twice.

Even though the United States Championship and Intercontinental Championship aren't world titles, the belts hold immense value in the WWE Universe. The Viper won the United States Championship in 2018 which made him the 18th overall Grand Slam Champion.

Back in 2018, Orton defeated then-US Champion Bobby Roode at Fastlane to become the new United States Champion. The reign lasted until WrestleMania 34, where he lost it to Jinder Mahal in a Fatal 4-Way involving Bobby Roode and Rusev as well. It must be noted that prior to winning the United States Championship, The Apex Predator was in a feud with Rusev after defeating him in 10 seconds at SummerSlam 2017.

Unfortunately, Mahal's championship reign lasted eight days. Jeff Hardy defeated Mahal for the United States Championship on April 16, 2018, on Monday Night RAW. Following that, Randy Orton had another chance to win back the title from Jeff Hardy at Backlash 2018 but failed. After this failed attempt, Orton took a brief hiatus owing to a surgery, and returned at Extreme Rules. He attacked Jeff Hardy after Hardy lost the United States Championship to Shinsuke Nakamura.

Two days after marking his heel turn at Extreme Rules, The Viper interfered in the rematch between Hardy and Nakamura on SmackDown Live. The match ended in DQ after Orton's attack. This marked the end of Orton's involvement in the United States Championship, and he continued a rivalry with Hardy until Hell in a Cell, where he finally defeated Jeff Hardy.

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Randy Orton will be wrestling for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 40

Randy Orton was a part of the Elimination Chamber men's match in Perth, Australia. The winner of the match would become the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40.

The Viper eliminated Kevin Owens and Logan Paul, while Drew McIntyre eliminated Bobby Lashley and LA Knight. Orton was very close to winning the match when an eliminated Logan Paul entered the ring again to punch Orton with the brass knuckles. This allowed The Scottish Psychopath to pick up the victory.

On the other hand, a rivalry between The Maverick and The Apex Predator commenced. On the March 15, 2024, episode of SmackDown, Nick Aldis announced a triple threat match with Kevin Owens and Randy Orton as United States Champion Logan Paul's challengers for WrestleMania 40!