Generation Next (simply stylized as GenNext) was a professional wrestling stable in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the event Generation Next, on May 22, 2004, by Alex Shelley, 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 at Destiny, Aries officially disbanded Generation Next, with the four wrestling as a faction for one last time on July 29, 2006 at Generation Now.
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 afterwards. Later in the night, all four defeated The Briscoe Brothers, Jimmy Rave, and R. J. Brewer in an eight man tag team match.
On July 17, 2004, Generation Next attacked Ricky Steamboat 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, R. J. Brewer 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 Joe's reign of 21 months.
On March 5, 2005, Generation Next participated in the Trios Tournament, but was defeated in the finals by The Rottweilers when Aries was pinned by Homicide. Homicide challenged Aries for the ROH World Championship, but was defeated during ROH's "Best of the American Super Juniors" tournamenton on April 2, 2005. Former Generation Next leader Alex Shelley, now a fan favorite, also 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 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.