At Bound for Glory IV, Styles faced Christian Cage and Booker T in a three-way match in which Booker T won. Shortly after that, Booker T, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and Sting formed The Main Event Mafia, and Styles teamed up with Samoa Joe to fight them. On the October 30 episode of "Impact!", Styles and Joe formed a faction of younger wrestlers known as The TNA Front Line to combat The Main Event Mafia, who recruited Scott Steiner. Styles challenged Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Turning Point and again in an eight-man tag team match at Final Resolution, but was unsuccessful each time. On the January 22, 2009 episode of "Impact!", Angle vowed to end Styles' career and later that night beat Styles in a tables match, where Styles was injured (kayfabe).