Departure (2019)

Promotional poster featuring various Noah wrestlers

**Departure** was a professional wrestling event produced by Pro Wrestling Noah. The event took place on August 5, 2019, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. This was the ninth event under the *Departure* name.

The show was headlined by Naomichi Marufuji facing Kotaro Suzuki. Other matches featured AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima) defending GHC Tag Team Championships against Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue and Minoru Tanaka defending the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2019 Global Junior League HAYATA. The event also marked Noah's 19th Anniversary.

## Production

### Background

On January 29, 2019, Masayuki Uchida announced that it had sold 75% shares of the company to LIDET Entertainment as result Uchida resigned from its position in the company and joined LIDET Entertainment as an advisor for the promotion operations and announced the relocating of its offices from Misakichō, Tokyo to Yūrakuchō, Tokyo. Afterwards, the promotion underwent a visual makeover, which included changed their logo and replacing their green ring color inspired by Mitsuharu Misawa since their formation. In March 2019, LIDET Entertainment established a plan to relaunch the promotion as the second largest promotion in Japan.

### Storylines

Departure (2019) featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The event was main evented by Kotaro Suzuki facing Naomichi Marufuji in a singles match. During Marufuji and Suzuki's careers, they were trained by Mitsuharu Misawa, during their time within Pro Wrestling Noah's dojo, Marufuji and Suzuki managed to become Noah's top stars with Marufuji gaining success in the Junior Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions while Suzuki in the Juinor Heavyweight division managing to become one of Noah's top stars in the division while Marufuji stayed always with the promotion, Suzuki would stay with the promotion until 2012 when he left the promotion after he refused to re-sign on December 19 due to the promotion releasing Kenta Kobashi from his contract on December 3, 2012 days before he refused to re-sign with promotion. On September 1, 2018, at Naomichi Marufuji 20th Anniversary Show, Suzuki announced his intentions of returning to the promotion after five years of leaving the promotion, later it was announced that Marufuji would be facing Suzuki at the event.

In the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match, Minoru Tanaka defending the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2019 Global Junior League HAYATA. On July 27, HAYATA defeated Tadasuke to win the 2019 Global League. After the match, HAYATA challenged Minoru Tanaka, Tanaka came to the ring and confronted HAYATA.

In the GHC Tag Team Championship match, AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima) defending GHC Tag Team Championships made their second title defense against Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue. On July 21, AXIZ defeated Kaito Kiyomiya and Shuhei Taniguchi to make their first successful title defense of the GHC Tag Team Championships. After the match, Saito and Inoue challenged AXIZ to a match for the GHC Tag Team Championship in a rematch from the 2019 Global Tag League. During the AXIZ were defeated by Saito and Inoue.