The Great Voyage (2019)

Promotional poster for the event, featuring GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya (left) and challenger Naomichi Marufuji (right)

## Information

### City

Yokohama, Japan

**Great Voyage (2019)** was a professional wrestling event promoted by Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH) annually since 2000 it's the longest and the biggest PPV in NOAH. NOAH until now produced in 2019 one and only event under the Great Voyage name; **Great Voyage in Yokohama** on March 10.

The event included four matches contested for NOAH's championships. The main event was a GHC Heavyweight Championship match between the champion Kaito Kiyomiya and the challenger Naomichi Marufuji.

## 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 with Great Voyage being the first under the new makeover of the promotion.

### Storylines

The Great Voyage 2019 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The Great Voyage 2019 in Yokohama was main evented by Kaito Kiyomiya making his third defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against his partner Naomichi Marufuji. On February 2, 2019, after Kiyomiya made his second title defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Masa Kitamiya, he was challenged by Marufuji, who made his return from a shoulder injury, with Kiyomiya claiming to be the "new face of Noah". Kiyomiya and Marufuji were supposed to face each other in the finals of the 2018 Global League on November 25, but Marufuji was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. While Marufuji was injured Kiyomiya broke his record of the youngest GHC Heavyweight Champion in the title's history at 22 years old. Leading up to the match, Kiyomiya and Marufuji faced each other in a tag team match, where Kiyomiya teamed with Daisuke Harada and Marufuji teamed with Minoru Tanaka. Marufuji would win the match for his team, after submitting Kiyomiya with a Keylock and afterwards bent down to hold the icepack on Kiyomiya's arm, which he had attacked consistently during the match. In a built up to the match, Kiyomiya trained with MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba to work on his submission move a Chicken Wing Facelock.

In the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match, Daisuke Harada made his second title defense against Minoru Tanaka. On January 26, 2019, after Harada defeated YO-HEY to make his first successful title, Tanaka confronted Harada, signaling he wanted a match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. In a built up to the match, Tanaka wanted for their match to main event the Great Voyage.

In the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match, Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinari Ogawa made their first title defense against RATEL'S (HAYATA and Tadasuke). In December 2018, Suzuki and Ogawa started a feud RATEL'S, leading YO-HEY and HAYATA to leave RATEL'S and siding with Ogawa and Suzuki. On February 24, 2019, after Ogawa and Suzuki won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke confronted Ogawa and Suzuki, leading HAYATA to turn on Ogawa, Suzuki and YO-HEY, and Tadasuke and HAYATA challenging Ogawa and Suzuki for their titles and afterwards Tadasuke stole the titles from them.

In the GHC Tag Team Championship match, AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima) made their first title defense against Eddie Edwards and Masa Kitamiya). On February 24, 2019, after AXIZ regained the GHC Tag Team Championship, Edwards and Kitamiya challenged AXIZ to a match for their titles. Edwards was set to challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championship with Atsushi Kotoge, but Kotoge was sidelined with an injury.

The Great Voyage in Yokohama also include a singles match between Kazma Sakamoto and Takashi Sugiura. On February 24, 2019, after Takashi Sugiura forced Sakamoto's stable Hooligans, Sakamoto requested a match with Sugiura.