On January 29, it was reported that Itami requested and was granted his release from the company after a five-year run. This was followed by multiple members of the roster saying goodbye to Itami on social media. On February 4, 2019, the WWE Performance Center YouTube channel that documents the Superstars travel and backstage life released a video chronicling Itami's last week in WWE. The video features Itami working with Daivari and talking about his struggles with learning to speak and understand English. The end of the video sees Hideo walking back to gorilla position and being given a standing ovation from those in the backstage area. On February 22, Kobayashi was officially released by WWE, as the company formally acknowledged his departure on Twitter.