At Genesis, Styles turned into a villain and defeated Angle in a Last Chance match to again retain the championship with assistance from Ric Flair. On the January 21 episode of "Impact!", Flair announced that he had aligned himself with Styles and christened Styles "The New Nature Boy", but on the same episode Hulk Hogan announced a Genesis rematch, where if Flair were to interfere, Styles would be stripped of the title and awarded to Angle. During the match, Angle applied his signature move, the ankle lock, on Styles, who reversed it and applied the same move to Angle, when suddenly referee Earl Hebner, paid off by Flair, called for the bell although Angle did not submit. At Against All Odds, Styles retained the title against Samoa Joe, with help from Flair, in a match refereed by Eric Bischoff. On the March 8 episode of "Impact!", Styles teamed up with Ric Flair in a tag team match, in a losing effort against Abyss and Hulk Hogan. Styles defended the title against Abyss at Destination X in a match that went to no contest after Abyss hit Styles with a chokeslam through the ring. At Lockdown, Styles successfully defended the title against D'Angelo Dinero in a steel cage match. The following day on "Impact!", Styles dropped the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Rob Van Dam, ending his reign at a then-record 211 days. Styles faced Van Dam in a rematch at Sacrifice, but was defeated again.