On September 19th, 2008, Ring of Honor rolled into Boston University’s Case Gymnasium with a stacked card that delivered on all fronts.
But nothing hit harder — emotionally or physically — than the main event: Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. The Age of the Fall (Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs) for the ROH World Tag Team Championships.
For Steen and Generico, this wasn’t just a match. It was the culmination of a years-long journey of near misses, heartbreak, and persistence.
On that night, in front of a passionate ROH crowd in Boston, the Canadian duo finally reached the top of the mountain — defeating Black and Jacobs to become ROH Tag Team Champions.
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. The Age of the Fall (Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs)
The Build
In the months leading up to Driven 2008, the tag division in Ring of Honor had been dominated by the eerie and chaotic duo of Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs — the face of The Age of the Fall.
They were everything Steen and Generico weren’t: calculated, methodical, and manipulative. While Steen and Generico relied on grit, heart, and fan support, Jacobs and Black thrived on disorder and mind games.
The two teams clashed several times through mid-2008, with Jacobs and Black always finding a way to escape with the gold.
Whether through interference, underhanded tactics, or pure violence, they held onto the belts. But Steen and Generico weren’t going away — if anything, their determination only intensified. The more they failed, the harder they fought.
In an ROH Video Wire segment filmed just days before the event, Steen cut a now-iconic promo:
“We’ve scratched, we’ve clawed, we’ve bled in front of these fans. We’ve done everything right… and we keep getting screwed. That ends in Boston.”
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. The Age of the Fall
The Match: A War in Boston
There was a big-match feel in the Case Gymnasium when both teams hit the ring. The Boston crowd, always vocal and engaged, was firmly behind Steen and Generico — and just as passionately against the Age of the Fall.
From the start, the pace was relentless. The champions did everything in their power to keep Generico grounded and Steen isolated.
They weren’t just fighting to retain — they were fighting to extinguish the hope that Steen and Generico carried with them.
But the challengers came prepared. Generico absorbed a barrage of punishment — including a vicious guillotine choke from Jacobs and a superkick/backbreaker combo from Black — but refused to stay down.
The match’s turning point came when Steen reversed a Doomsday setup, tossing Black to the outside and connecting with a cannonball into the barricade.
With the crowd now at a fever pitch, Generico flew through the ropes with a Helluva Kick, sending Jacobs crashing into the corner. Steen followed up with a devastating Package Piledriver, and Generico sealed it with the Top Rope Brainbuster.
1… 2… 3.
The bell rang. The crowd erupted. Steen and Generico were the new ROH World Tag Team Champions.
The Aftermath: A Long Overdue Victory
The celebration was genuine. You could see it in their faces — not just joy, but relief. This wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan title win. It was validation for two men who had built their careers on heart, chemistry, and fan connection.
After the match, Steen took the mic:
“This isn’t just for us. This is for every fan that’s been with us from the start. We didn’t take the easy way. But we took the right way.”
Generico, as usual, kept things short:
“Olee! Olee ole ole!” — and the crowd took over from there.
This victory marked the official end of The Age of the Fall’s reign of terror over the tag division. And while the faction would continue to cause chaos in ROH, their time as champions was over.
For Kevin Steen and El Generico, this was a defining moment. Their journey in ROH had always been about the grind.
They weren’t signed because of size, family connections, or looks. They earned everything they had through hard work, risk-taking, and connection with the audience.
Driven 2008 was the night that proved that story could still pay off in wrestling.
ROH had always been a company that valued storytelling through action, and this main event was a masterclass in that philosophy.
Kevin Steen and El Generico, despite their contrasting styles, had proven themselves one of the most dynamic and enduring tag teams in North American wrestling.
Reactions Around the Industry
The buzz following Driven 2008 was immediate. On online message boards and in early social media discussions, fans praised the tag title match as one of the best in ROH that year. Many compared it favorably to their earlier matches with the Briscoes and the No Remorse Corps.
In a 2009 interview with PWInsider, Steen reflected on the night:
“We were chasing those belts for over a year. That moment in Boston? I’ll never forget it. It wasn’t just about titles — it was about proving we belonged.”
Generico, speaking with Slam Wrestling Canada, said:
“We always said, ‘Just give us the chance.’ That night in ROH, we got it — and we delivered.”
Even Jimmy Jacobs, speaking years later on a Colt Cabana podcast, admitted:
“They earned it. There was no doubt. That building came unglued, and you could feel the shift. That was their night.”
Legacy of the Match
Their ROH Driven 2008 win would go on to influence both men’s careers long after their ROH run. It gave them credibility.
It gave them momentum. And it showed promotions across the world that they could be top-level players — not just comedy relief or spot wrestlers.
Within a year, the cracks in Steen and Generico’s friendship began to show, leading to one of ROH’s most brutal rivalries in 2010. But none of that would’ve hit the same way if they hadn’t first climbed the mountain together at Driven 2008.
As for The Age of the Fall, Tyler Black’s singles career soon took off. By 2010, he was ROH World Champion. Jimmy Jacobs eventually found a second life as a brilliant creative mind, both in ROH and later backstage at WWE.
The main event of ROH Driven 2008 wasn’t about flashy entrances or overbooked finishes. It was about two wrestlers.
Kevin Steen and El Generico — finally getting what they deserved. In front of a white-hot Boston crowd, they proved that perseverance and passion can still pay off.
In the years that followed, both Kevin Steen and El Generico would go on to have success globally — including in WWE, where they’d once again cross paths under different names.
But to many fans, their crowning moment will always be the night in Boston when they held those ROH Tag Team Titles high and showed the world they were no longer underdogs. They were champions.
