April 20, 2002.  My first match ever.  I stood in an NCW ring in pure awe that I had actually been given a chance to do something I’d dreamed of for my entire life.  Across the ring from me were the Elements Of Suicide.  Former NCW Tag Team Champions, along with numerous other accolades throughout New England.  That match ended with Onyx lighting his leg on fire, and dropping it between my legs.  Not fun.

Shortly after, Onyx and Cinna recruited me to be a member of EoS.  It was an honor that to this very day I don’t think I was worthy of, but was without a doubt the genesis of my career.  From there I was able to work along side EoS and learn a tremendous amount about not only wrestling, but other aspects of the world as well.  I would be there as I saw them become NCW, EWA, PWF, and PLW tag-team champions on numerous occasions.  The debt I owe those two men for everything they did can never be repaid.

February 11, 2005.  EoS wrestled their last match ever.  The men that had been there for me my entire career were gone.  I was on my own.

May 28, 2011.  Over 9 years from the first time I stepped in a ring and looked across at former NCW Tag-Team Champions, I get a chance to battle for those same belts.  The men that hold those straps are no strangers.  Jon Thornhill and I have battled in the ring before…many times.  We’ve also been great friends outside of the ring.  I’ve also known Tim Pittman since he was the boy next door, wearing sweaters and petting cats.  I remember reading that when Generation SLAM had won the NCW Tag Team Titles, they dedicated the win to EoS.  It was a greatful tribute, but also read more like a eulogy.

Tonight, as much as I admire and respect GenSLAM, I will make it very clear to them that EoS is not dead.  EoS lives on in me.  The man that will be by my side, William Thorne, has been like a brother to me.  He was able to receive some tutelage from Cinna & Onyx as well.  Tonight, the circle will be completed.  We will take our rightful place at the top of the NCW Tag Team mountain.

Jon…Tim…I admire you.  I respect you.  But when that bell rings, there will be nothing on this planet that will stop D.U.I. from picking up right where EoS left off.  We will show the world that the spirit of the flaming leg lives on.

John C. Howard 5/29/2011

When NCW came back in 2005, we essentially had to rebuild the roster from scratch considering it had been a little over two years since our last show. This was never more true than when it came to the tag team division, which was completely splintered by the time we returned to action that February.

Our Tag Team Champions Emerald Fuzion had broken up in 2003, with Jason Blade blowing up as the next big singles star while Mike Paiva went into semi-retirement in 2004. The Stretcher Crew were no more. 69 Degrees was a distant memory, and the Elements of Suicide had wrestled their last match a week before NCW’s 2005 REUNION.

When looking for new tag teams to lead the NCW tag division, I was encouraged to check out two young up and comers in “Dynamic” Jon Thornhill and “The Boy Next Door” Timothy Pittman. Pittman made his debut in NCW at REUNION as ‘the superfan’, while Thornhill made his first NCW appearance two months later against New England Champion “Hot Stuff” Paul Hudson. Despite being singles wrestlers, the duo had teamed up for the first time at a SAW Wrestling event in Vermont, immediately clicking together and becoming a well oiled machine. Being products of the EOS and their training den ‘the Karoba’, Thornhill & Pittman had a long history with one another that wasn’t always pleasant. Thanks to their friendship with the beautiful Amber (and their mutual love for pizza), they were united and ready to take the NCW world by storm.

Pittman & Thornhill were set to compete in the first ever NCW Tag Team Invitational in October 2005, wrestling for the vacant Tag Team Titles against three other top notch teams. Leading up to the show we began brainstorming names for their tag team, with the prevalent moniker being The BFF’s (I was quickly shot down on that one). Of all people it was Derik Destiny who came up with the name one night at a Thursday night Karaoke session, and Generation SLAM was officially born. On October 8th, 2005 Gen SLAM went into the Jacob Jones VFW Post as an unknown duo with unlimited potential, and left the most popular tag team NCW had seen in years, completely captivating the Dedham fans and capturing the Tag Team Championship for the first time.

Jon & Tim were really friends, really brothers, and it showed in each one of their matches. Accompanied by their inspiration Amber, Gen SLAM ruled the tag team world while engaging in an epic rivalry with Scotty Vegas and Alex Chamberlin that lasted a good two years. Even when they weren’t the focal point of the tag team scene, whether it was due to injury (Thornhill’s broken ankle and Pittman’s shattered knee come to mind) or jet-setting (Tim’s eighteen month stint in Japan) across the world, the shadows of Gen SLAM were cast out over the rest of the tag teams in NCW, knowing that they’d have to pass the Gen SLAM test at some point or another.

I love tag team wrestling, and I love Generation SLAM. While I feel like these guys have been too hard on themselves over the last couple of years, I can name a dozen classic Gen SLAM moments off the top of my head without a bit of hesitation. Besides their first Tag Team Title win in 2005 I think of the very fun (and stiff) 6 person intergender match against the MSP & MTE at NCW COLLISION COURSE in 2006. I think of Tim Pittman’s Farewell Match in 2007 when him, Jon, & a retired Ruy Batello took on NCW President Mike Paiva, Scotty Vegas, & MTE. I think of Amber’s surprise return when she managed Jon & Tim against Emerald Fuzion in Taftville, CT (the only good thing to come out of Taftville I promise you).

I think of the grizzled veterans going up against the athletic prowess of The Airdevils at WrestleFest IV, and I think of the awesome image of Tim Pittman senton bombing Buddy Romano and Owen Graichen to holy hell just last October in Brockton, MA.

What Jon & Tim said after their great match with DUI in West Warwick last weekend was a complete shoot, and it makes me sad to think of an NCW locker room without Generation SLAM. These guys help make NCW what it is, and we wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for them and all they’ve given to this company the last six plus years.

We’ll see you soon guys…