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==
Generation Next made its debut on May 22, 2004 during Ring of Honor (ROH)'s "Generation Next" show as a heel 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 heel 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 ways.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing tag team moves
**Ode to the Bulldogs / Skipping a Generation (Strong has one opponent in a backbreaker rack and as the other opponent is behind Strong, Evans hits a diving double stomp off the top rope on the opponent's chest in the backbreaker rack then jumps off the opponent's chest and then performs a diving splash, diving senton or a 180° corkscrew moonsault onto the other opponent, as Strong hits a sitout backbreaker drop using momentum from the diving double stomp)
**Half Nelson backbreaker by Strong followed by a 450 Splash by Aries or 630 Senton by Evans
*Signature tag team moves
**Catapult backbreaker by Strong followed by a slingshot elbow drop by Aries while being held in catapult backbreaker position
**Double side slam backbreaker
**Stiff Chop by Strong to opponent in suplex position by Aries before he drops into a brainbuster
**Vertical suplex (Strong) / 450° splash (Evans) combination
**Roderick flips Jack by his leg to assist Jack into doing an assisted standing corkscrew 450° splash
**Multiple powerbomb / moonsault combination variations
***Strong lifts Evans into a powerbomb position and flips him into a standing moonsault double stomp to an opponent's back, while being trapped between the top turnbuckle and middle rope
***Strong lifts Evans into a powerbomb position and flips him into a moonsault onto the fallen opponent
***Strong lifts Evans up with a military press and throws him into an opponent in the corner, resembling a Fastball Special
*Entrance Themes
**"Interstellar Overdrive" by Melvins
**"Complication" by Nine Inch Nails
==Championships and accomplishments==
*Ring of Honor
**ROH World Championship – Austin Aries
**Survival of the Fittest winner – Roderick Strong (2005)
*Wrestling Observer
**Most Improved Wrestler – Roderick Strong (2005)
==Media==
*Our Time is Now: The Best of Generation Next – ROH DVD
*Wrestling Machine: The Best of Austin Aries – ROH DVD
*Suffering is Inevitable: The Best of Roderick Strong – ROH DVD
*Defying Gravity: The Best of Jack Evans – ROH DVD
==External links==
* Profile
* Generation Next at OWW.com
Category:2004 debuts
Category:2006 disbandments
Category:Independent promotions teams and stables
Category:Ring of Honor teams and stables
Category:Teams and stables