In this manuscript, the dynamic response of a long cylinder subjected to an asymmetric thermal shock is investigated within the framework of generalized micropolar thermoelasticity. The displacement and micro-rotation are assumed to vanish at the surface. Laplace transformation techniques are used to solve the problem. The solution is obtained in the transformed field using an innovative direct approach. Furthermore, we obtain the inverse transformations using a numerical method based on Fourier expansion. The obtained results are carefully presented through graphical representations and discussed extensively across different relaxation time values. It is evident that the relaxation time parameter significantly influences all the distributions. The displacement distributions are always continuous, whereas all other functions, including temperature variation, stress distribution, and micro-rotation, exhibit discontinuity at the wave front. The results obtained hold significant importance in various technological applications and in the manufacturing of mechanical components.