Cody Rhodes' former protege set to challenge for top AEW Championship after surprise heel turn

Cody Rhodes was highly influential in AEW both on television and with his backstage role.

During his time with the promotion, he took numerous stars under his wing, including Lee Johnson, who is now set to challenge Orange Cassidy for the All Atlantic Championship.

Johnson was part of Rhodes' Nightmare Family faction. The group also consisted of the likes of Brock Anderson, Aaron Solow, MJF, and other prominent members.

Johnson recently made his return after being sidelined for six months due to an injury. On an episode of Dark Elevation, he attacked Danhausen and joined The Factory.

During a backstage segment that was posted by AEW on social media, Johnson and The Factory were confronted by Orange Cassidy and Best Friends. QT Marshall mentioned that Cassidy is fond of putting his All Atlantic Championship on the line and should consider doing the same against Johnson.

Cassidy simply agreed and walked away, and a match between him and Johnson was made official for the upcoming edition of Rampage.

Orange Cassidy won the AEW All Atlantic Championship a few weeks ago

A few weeks ago, Orange Cassidy won his first-ever championship by beating arch-rival PAC to capture the All Atlantic Championship.

In doing so, he became the second-ever holder of the title after The Bastard became the inaugural champion at the AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

Since winning the title, Cassidy has defended the belt in two Triple Threat Matches. His first title defense was against Preston Vance of the Dark Order and Rush.

The second three-way match saw Cassidy put the title on the line against Luchasaurus and Rey Fenix. This led to the return of Katsuyori Shibata, who set up a dream match with Cassidy.

The two faced off on last week's episode of Rampage, with the current champion walking out with a huge win over The Wrestler.

Have you been enjoying Orange Cassidy's reign as the All Atlantic Champion so far? Sound off in the comments section below.