Generation Next Generation Next was a professional wrestling stable in the Ring of Honor ( ROH ) promotion . Formed by Alex Shelley on May 22 , 2004 , the original Generation Next consisted of Shelley , Austin Aries , Roderick Strong and Jack Evans . Shelley was eventually kicked out of the group and replaced by Aries as the leader , who would later add Matt Sydal to the faction in the summer of 2005 . On June 3 , 2006 , Aries officially disbanded Generation Next , with the four wrestling as a faction for one last time on July 29 , 2006 . History . Ring of Honor . Generation Next made its debut on May 22 , 2004 during Ring of Honor ( ROH ) ' s " Generation Next " show as a villainous faction . The event was originally going to partly consist of matches between up - and - comers in the ROH roster , and the wrestlers in these matches were to be voted on by those in attendance . The first match on the card was originally going to be a triple threat tag team match between the Christopher Street Connection , The Ring Crew Express and Special K when Alex Shelley , Roderick Strong , Austin Aries , and Jack Evans ran - in and broke the match up , declaring themselves " The Best that Ring of Honor has to offer " and trashing the ballots . Aries , Evans , and Strong then went on to challenge and defeat the aforementioned Special K in a six - man tag team match while Shelley defeated another Special K member , Hydro , in a singles match afterwords . Later in the night , all four defeated the Briscoe Brothers , Jimmy Rave , and John Walters in an eight - man tag team match . Generation Next attacked Ricky Steamboat on July 17 , 2004 , while Steamboat was facing CM Punk . CM Punk saved Steamboat from this beating , completing his turn into a fan favorite . This incident led to the feud between Generation Next and Steamboat / Second City Saints . On October 2 , 2004 , Generation Next defeated " Team Steamboat " ( CM Punk , Ace Steel , John Walters and Jimmy Jacobs ) in an eight - man elimination match , with Aries and Shelley being the sole survivors . During October 2004 , Strong and Evans formed a regular tag team , Shelley was feuding with his longtime foe and former tag team partner Jimmy Jacobs , and Aries was rising in the ranks , eventually challenging then ROH World Champion , Samoa Joe . On December 26 , 2004 during ROH ' s " Final Battle 2004 " show , Aries wanted Alex Shelley to step down as the leader of Generation Next . Before Shelley could give him his answer , Aries and Strong turned on him , kicking him out of the faction . Later that night , Aries defeated Samoa Joe to become the new ROH World Champion , ending his reign of 21 months . On March 5 , 2005 , Generation Next participated in the Trios Tournament , but was defeated in finals by The Rottweilers when Aries was pinned by Homicide . Homicide challenged Aries for ROH World Championship , but was defeated on April 2 , 2005 during ROH ' s " Best of the American Super Juniors " tournament . Former Generation Next leader Alex Shelley , now a fan favorite , also made challenged for the title during ROH ' s " Manhattan Mayhem " show , but also failed to win . On June 4 , 2005 , Aries and Strong attacked Shelley so brutally that Shelley had to be aided out . On June 18 , 2005 , Aries lost his title to CM Punk during ROH ' s " Death Before Dishonor III " show . On July 23 , 2005 , Alex Shelley officially became a new member of The Embassy , becoming a villain again . This caused Generation Next to turn become fan favorites and begin the Generation Next - Embassy feud . Aries and Strong , along with new member Matt Sydal , defeated Shelley , Jimmy Rave and Abyss ( representing the Embassy ) on August 12 , 2005 . Aries and Strong scored another victory over Embassy on August 20 . After the match , The Embassy attempted to attack Mick Foley , but Generation Next fought them off . On December 3 , 2005 Generation Next ended their feud with The Embassy by defeating them in the first ever Steel Cage Warfare match . During ROH ' s " Final Battle 2005 " show on December 17 , Aries and Strong defeated Sal Rinauro and Tony Mamaluke to win the ROH Tag Team Championship . Generation Next then stated that they planned to elevate the tag team title to the main event scene in ROH . As part of this process , they defended the title in Japan , giving the championship world title status . On June 3 , 2006 during ROH ' s " Destiny " show , Austin Aries declared that , with Evans and Sydal wrestling in Japan for Dragon Gate , and that they had already established themselves as the top wrestlers in ROH , there was no longer any need for the Generation Next stable . At ROH ' s " Generation Now " show in July , the four members that made up Generation Next teamed for one last time . They faced off against Davey Richards , Jerrelle Clark , Dave Crist and Jake Crist , and Generation Next lost . Following the disbanding of Generation Next , the members went their separate way . No Remorse Corps and The Resilience . At " Battle of the Icons " on January 27 , 2007 , Austin Aries and Roderick Strong teamed up with Jack Evans to defeat SHINGO , Davey Richards , and Delirious . What looked to be a Generation Next reunion of sorts was short lived . At the first show of the " Fifth Year Festival " , Aries and Strong challenge Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels for the ROH World Tag Team Championship . Midway through the match , Aries suffered a knee injury and was barely able to stand . After losing , Strong turned on Aries and began to attack him . Davey Richards came down and announced the two had formed a new tag team called No Remorse Corps . Jack Evans ran down to help Aries , but would not fight Strong , saying both of them were his friends . Aries enlisted the help of Matt Cross , but he would injure himself . Rocky Romero has joined the No Remorse Corps . On June 6 , 2008 Strong and Richards participated in ROH ' s one night tournament to crown new World Tag Team Champions . They were eliminated in the first round by Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson . The next night , after Strong defeated Erick Stevens in a Fight Without Honor , he was courted by Larry Sweeney to join Sweet N ' Sour Inc . He refused only to be beaten down by Richards who tore off his No Remorse Corps shirt to reveal he was wearing an S & S Inc one underneath . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . In January 2006 , Aries , Shelley and Strong were reunited in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) , where they formed a short - lived stable with a similar agenda as Generation Next ' s . The trio antagonized road agent Jerry Lynn , demanding opportunities to advance in the company . They effectively defeated all the major faces in the X Division in tag team matches , defeating A . J . Styles , Christopher Daniels and Chris Sabin in a tag match . At the following pay - per - view , they defeated the team of Sabin , Sonjay Dutt and Matt Bentley . Aries and Strong also competed in a tag team tournament , defeating The Naturals in tag team competition before losing to the team of Dutt and Sabin . The trio was unofficially disbanded in light of Aries and Strong ' s indefinite suspension from the company due to them showing up late to the Against All Odds pay per view . Strong was never brought back to TNA , and in 2006 , Shelley went on to create Paparazzi Productions with Kevin Nash and Johnny Devine . At Bound for Glory , Aries returned as " Austin Starr " and won the " Kevin Nash Open Invitational X Division Gauntlet Battle Royal " and presented a bowling trophy to Starr for winning the match . Starr went on to join Nash and Shelley as part of Paparazzi Productions , much to the dismay of Shelley . Later in the year , Starr was released and soon re - joined ROH , whilst Shelley and Chris Sabin introduced the Motor City Machine Guns to TNA . It could be said the Paparazzis had officially broken up as of April 26 , therefore the same date could be said to be the end of Generation Next ' s association in TNA .