Crown Jewel 2025 is right around the corner. The high-stakes PLE event is known for determining the best among world title holders in the men’s and women’s divisions of the company. While it is only the seventh edition of the event, it already matches the exciting levels that currently exist for the big-four events of the WWE.
Who will be the ultimate Crown Jewel Champion this year is currently a million-dollar question; however, several veteran performers will not be able to participate in the event this time around.
In light of the exciting night in Perth, Australia, and the fast-approaching WWE universe, here are 10 former WWE Champions who will not feature in Crown Jewel 2025.
10. Brock Lesnar
Without a doubt, Brock Lesnar is one of the most dominant performers inside the squared circle that the world of professional wrestling has ever witnessed. ‘The Beast Incarnate’ evidently has the skill set and charisma of a world title holder, but his professional wrestling career is currently at a crucial juncture.
The former Universal Champion is making a steady return to the ring after WWE legal cleared him of alleged involvement in the infamous Janel Grant lawsuit. Furthermore, the new contract he has with WWE ever since his return at SummerSlam 2025 makes his appearances more sporadic.
Thus, Brock Lesnar’s presence at Crown Jewel 2025 will be a major miss for WWE fans. ‘The Beast Incarnate’ recently appeared at Wrestlepalooza 2025 and thrashed John Cena during a high-stakes clash as part of his retirement tour. Lesnar’s appearance at Crown Jewel 2025 would have been one of the most sought-after fixtures of the event in Perth.
9. Kevin Owens
The WWE universe was enjoying the intense promos from Kevin Owens until something unexpected took place. The Canadian superstar appeared during the April 4, 2025, edition of Friday Night SmackDown (via WWE) and stated that he is forced to pull himself out of his match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 due to a career-threatening neck injury.
Owens has not appeared in WWE programming ever since, missing out on all major PLE events in the company this year. His absence from Crown Jewel 2025 is, therefore, pretty much on expected lines with no official confirmation either on his road to recovery and potential WWE return.
One of the few public appearances he made after his neck surgery was during a NASCAR event, where, during a conversation with Scott Sprinkle, Owens revealed that he had to undergo a triple fusion surgery, and there is no certainty on whether or when he would return to the squared circle.
8. Randy Orton
WWE has not been utilizing Randy Orton for some time now in the WWE. Many WWE fans have called out the company to stop disrespecting Randy Orton, including his wife. However, the continued ignorance around pushing his professional wrestling career is extended at Crown Jewel 2025.
The Apex Predator is a 14-time World Champion. Although he is part of the WWE Takeover week of Australia and has been included as a featured superstar during the October 10, 2025, edition of Friday Night SmackDown (via WWE), his absence at Crown Jewel 2025 is a major setback in his professional wrestling career and a letdown for fans as well.
7. Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre was the challenger for Cody Rhodes’s title at Wrestlepalooza 2025. It was widely anticipated that the Scottish Warrior would emerge as the winner, but unfortunately, that did not happen, and he ultimately had to miss out on proceedings at Crown Jewel 2025.
McIntyre is a major miss-out for fans and rivals alike for this high-stakes PLE event. It will now be interesting to see whether he intervenes at Crown Jewel 2025 in some capacity and continues to remain relevant in existing storylines.
6. CM Punk
The world has moved away as far as CM Punk is concerned. The Second City Saint was right in the mix at SummerSlam 2025 and clinched the World Heavyweight title by defeating Gunther in the main event.
He could’ve possibly been the one facing Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel 2025, but unfortunately, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during the dying moments of the night and defeated Punk to snatch his place at the high-stakes PLE event in Australia. This automatically pushes the Second City Saint out of Crown Jewel 2025.
5. Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston won the WWE Championship by defeating Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 and remained Champion for 180 days until Brock Lesnar defeated him in a squash match. Since then, a lot has changed in his persona and presence in the WWE.
The ‘New-Day’ member has quit competing as a singles competitor altogether, and since there are no Tag Team title matches featured at Crown Jewel 2025, his presence in the high-stakes event with his current and long-time partner Xavier Woods becomes impossible.
4. The Miz
The Miz wanted to become John Cena’s opponent for Crown Jewel 2025, and gave a strong reaction after Cena’s clash with AJ Styles was announced to that effect.
During an interview with Adrian Hernandez, The Miz lashed out at not being face-to-face with John Cena before the end of his retirement tour. The former WWE Champion shared:
I’ll tell you what I told backstage. I was happy for AJ Styles. But very angry that it’s AJ Styles versus John Cena and not John Cena vs The Miz. And the fans aren’t churning for aren’t going like we want The Miz versus John Cena.
Whatever may be the case, the clash between Styles and Cena is now imminent, and it seems unlikely that The Miz will have any role in that match or any part of Cena’s farewell tour.
3. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair tore her ACL, MCL, and meniscus in a match against Asuka on the December 8, 2023, episode of Friday Night SmackDown (via WWE).
She was initially expected to be out for about nine months, but the recovery kept her sidelined for a little over a year. She missed all of 2024, including WrestleMania 40, and only made her return at Royal Rumble 2025 to emerge victorious at the high-stakes PLE event.
Her path to reclaiming her position as the one with the spotlight in the WWE has been a steady one. She is currently the Women’s Tag Team Champion along with Alexa Bliss and was, therefore, not part of the proceedings as a singles competitor at Crown Jewel 2025.
2. Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley had a long and historic relationship with WWE Crown Jewel over the years. From being part of Team Hogan during the 2019 edition of the PLE event to competing against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel 2022. But he won’t be able to feature this time around in Perth.
Lashley has moved out of WWE and switched to AEW in August 2024 out of frustration with being underutilized and WWE’s decision to dismantle The Hurt Business, involving MVP and Shelton Benjamin.
1. Damian Priest
Former World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest has been out of the major title contender’s race for some time now. He is part of the proceedings at the go-home episode of Friday Night SmackDown with his Last Man Standing match against Aleister Black, but hasn’t been able to make it to the high-stakes PLE event.
Priest has been involved in a storyline feud with Black for some time now. It’s important for him to get closure in this regard, and considering the entire feud took place at the blue roster, scheduling it at Crown Jewel 2025 wouldn’t have gone well with the consistency factor that WWE has maintained as far as this storyline is concerned.
There might be a variety of reasons why these WWE superstars are out of WWE programming at Crown Jewel 2025. But their presence would’ve enhanced the excitement levels for the historic night at the RAC Arena in Perth.
What are your thoughts on these absences at Crown Jewel 2025? Share with us in the comments below.
Crown Jewel 2025 will be streaming live on October 11, 2025, on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.
