Destiny (2015)

Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NOAH wrestlers

**Destiny (2015)** was a professional wrestling event produced by Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). The event took place on December 23, 2015 at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, and it was the second event under the Destiny name.

The event featured a card full of matches between members of Suzuki-gun and Noah, with Suzuki-gun leader Minoru Suzuki defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2015 Global League Noah's Naomichi Marufuji. Another high-profile match scheduled for the show featured Suzuki-gun's Taichi defending the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Noah's Taiji Ishimori.

The event featured two other titles matches between members of Suzuki-gun and Noah, with Suzuki-gun's Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) defending the GHC Tag Team Championship against Noah's Big in USA (Chris Hero and Colt Cabana) and Noah's Momo no Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada) defending the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Taka Michinoku). The event was notable for being part of the promotion 15th anniversary.

## Production

### Storylines

Destiny (2015) 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 built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Destiny (2015) was main evented by Suzuki-gun's Minoru Suzuki defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2015 Global League Noah's Naomichi Marufuji. On January 10, the entire Suzuki-gun made a surprise appearance for Pro Wrestling Noah, occupying the ring after the main event where Marufuji had successfully defended his GHC Heavyweight Championship. While Suzuki hit Marufuji with his finishing move, the Gotch-Style Piledriver, his stablemates attacked everyone who tried to enter the ring to stop him. On March 15, Suzuki defeated Marufuji to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, Suzuki-gun's began dominating Noah leading to a storyline, where all of Noah's stables, villainous ones included, came together in order to reclaim the titles. On September 19, after Suzuki had made his fourth successful defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Takashi Sugiura, he was confronted by various Noah's wrestlers including Marufuji, who challenged for a rematch, prompting Suzuki to present an added stipulation for their match; should Marufuji lose, Noah would be dissolved. Uniting the entire Noah roster together, Marufuji stated he was prepared to dissolve Noah if any member of Suzuki-gun was able to win the upcoming Global League tournament. On November 8, Marufuji defeated Suzuki's Suzuki-gun stablemate, Shelton Benjamin, to win the 2015 Global League, setting up the rematch between Marufuji and Suzuki.

The Noah and Suzuki-gun return angle resulted in the event also featuring other prominent matches featuring the stable. In the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, Suzuki-gun's Taichi defended his title against Noah's Taiji Ishimori. On September 19, after Taichi had made his fourth successful defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Daisuke Harada, he was confronted by Ishimori in a post-match interview, who challenged Taichi to a title match. Three days later, Taichi interfered in the finals of the 2015 NTV G+ Junior Heavyweight Tag League to help his Suzuki-gun stablemates El Desperado and Taka Michinoku to win the tournament, but Ishimori stopped him. Shortly after, Zack Sabre Jr. also challenged Taichi to a match for his title, leading Ishimori to defeat Sabre on November 7, to become the #1 contender to the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Leading to the event, Taichi began mocking Ishimori's hair and, leading him to warn Ishimori that if he lost, he would have had to change his name and and shave his hair, leading him to stipulation for their match, for Noah's sake of becoming the new champion.

In the GHC Tag Team Championship match, Suzuki-gun's Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) made their fifth title against Noah's Big in USA (Chris Hero and Colt Cabana). On October 25, Hero defeated Archer, in their round-robin match in the 2015 Global League, which was followed by another victory over Smith in their round-robin match on October 29. On November 7, Smith faced Cabana in a singles match. The match ended in a disqualification, after Archer attacked Cabana, prompting Hero to make the save, which led to a non-title match between K.E.S and Big In USA, which Cabana and Hero won, setting up the match between the two teams.

In the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match, Noah's Momo no Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada) made their first title defense against Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Taka Michinoku). On August 22, Harada and Kotoge announced they were reuniting for the 2015 NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League, which would mark their first matches together as a tag team in four years. On September 22, Harada and Kotoge defeated the reigning GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado and Taka Michinoku in the finals to win the tournament. This led to a match on October 4, where Harada and Kotoge defeated Desperado and Michinoku to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, becoming the first Noah wrestlers to reclaim one of the four GHC titles, breaking Suzuki-gun's title monopoly. On November 7, Michinoku teamed with his Suzuki-gun stablemate Taichi in a winning effort against Harada and Kotoge, after Desperado interfered in the match. Afterwards, Desperado and Michinoku challenged Kotoge and Harada to a rematch for their titles, setting up the match between the two teams.

The event also featured another two singles matches between Noah and Suzuki-gun, with Katsuhiko Nakajima facing Shelton Benjamin, after Nakajima wanted to avenge his two previous against Benjamin from their round-robin match in the 2015 Global League and The Great Voyage 2015 in Osaka, while Takashi Sugiura faced Takashi Iizuka after both had been feuding during the 2015 Global League tour, in which Sugiura was layout by Iizuka with the *Iron Finger From Hell*. The event only singles match that didn't compromise the Noah and Suzuki-gun storyline featured a singles match between tag team partners Kenoh and Hajime Ohara, after on November 7, Ohara challenging Kenoh to a match.

## Event

### Undercard

The first match of the show saw Hitoshi Kumano and Yoshinari Ogawa facing Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshihiro Takayama. In the end, saw Ogawa and Kumano defeating Kiyomiya and Takayama with the *Fisherman Suplex*.

The second match of the show saw Akitoshi Saito, Mitsuhiro Kitamiya and Muhammad Yone facing Captain Noah, Genba Hirayanagi and Quiet Storm. The end saw Yone pinning Captain with the *Muscle Buster* for the win. The third match saw tag team partners Kenoh and Hajime Ohara facing off in a singles match. The end saw Kenoh pinning Ohara with the *Rago* for the win. The fourth match saw Go Shiozaki facing former tag team partner Maybach Taniguchi. The end saw Shiozaki pinning Taniguchi with the *Gowan Lariat* for the win.

### Noah vs. Suzuki-gun matches

The fifth match saw Noah's Takashi Sugiura facing Suzuki-gun's Takashi Iizuka. The end saw Sugiura pinning Iizuka with the *Olympic Slam*. In the sixth match saw Noah's Katsuhiko Nakajima facing Suzuki-gun's Shelton X Benjamin. The end saw Nakajima defeating Benjamin with the *Vertical Spike*.

    In the first championship match of the show saw Noah's Momo no Seishun Tag (Daisuke Harada and Atsushi Kotoge) taking on Suzuki-gun's El Desperado and Taka Michinoku for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. The end of the match saw Kotoge hitting the *Killswitch* on Desperado to retain the GHC Junior Tag Team Champions. In the second championship match of the show saw Noah's Taiji Ishimori taking on Suzuki-gun's Taichi in a *Lucha de Apuestas* hair and name vs. title match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. In the end saw Ishimori pinning Taichi with the *450 Splash* to win the title. In the third championship match for the show saw Noah's Big in USA (Chris Hero and Colt Cabana) taking on Suzuki-gun's K.E.S (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) for the GHC Tag Team Championships. The end of the match saw Archer pinning Hero with the Double Impact Killer Bomb to retain the titles

#### Main Event

In the fourth championship match for the show, in the main event saw the winner of the 2015 Global League Noah's Naomichi Marufuji taking on Suzuki-gun's Minoru Suzuki for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, with Noah's future on the line. In the end saw Marufuji pinning Suzuki with the *Tiger Flowsion* to regain the title. During Marufuji's victory celebration, Sugiura turned on him and Noah and joined Suzuki-gun, following the moment, Shiozaki announced that he wanted to join the promotion in its battle with Suzuki-gun, Marufuji; however, turned down his offer.

## Aftermath

Following Sugiura’s betrayal, Noah's President Akira Taue dismantled all of Noahs stables in order to unite the promotion against Suzuki-gun. He also dismissed Takashi Sugiura from his position as a chairman, talent relations, within Noah. Afterwards, Taue then formally announced that he has accepted Katsuhiko Nakajima’s offer to join NOAH. Marufuji also announced that Yoshinobu Kanemaru would make his return after three years leaving the promotion for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 2013.

Kanemaru and Go Shiozaki would form a partnership. Prior to the event, Minoru Suzuki teased the possibility of there being another traitor within Noah. On January 31, 2016, during his match with Go Shiozaki, Kanemaru revealed himself as the traitor by turning on Shiozaki, helping Suzuki win the match and joining Suzuki-gun. In the main event Sugiura defeated Marufuji with help from Archer and Suzuki to bring the GHC Heavyweight Championship back to Suzuki-gun. At the end of the show, Marufuji, after losing the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Sugiura, finally accepted Shiozaki's help in the war between Noah and Suzuki-gun. On February 24, Kanemaru defeated Taiji Ishimori with help from his new stablemates to become the new GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. On May 28, Archer and Smith lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to the winners of the 2016 Global Tag League Marufuji and and Toru Yano, ending their 15-month title reign in their 11th defense.