Steve Carrier on November 4, 2025
El Hijo del Vikingo‘s sudden heel turn wasn’t just a creative twist—it was the result of real heat from fans who weren’t buying what AAA and WWE were selling.
After WWE acquired AAA earlier this year, Vikingo was quickly positioned as the new face of the company’s Mexican brand. He defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the AAA Mega Championship, only to lose it soon after to Dominik Mysterio. But it wasn’t the title change that drew the backlash—it was how fast Vikingo was pushed as the top babyface.
Fans in Mexico didn’t react the way AAA expected. Instead, Vikingo started getting booed at live shows, with some drawing comparisons to how WWE fans once turned on Roman Reigns during his forced babyface run.
On the latest episode of the Keepin’ It 100 podcast, AAA veteran Konnan broke down exactly why the turn happened.
“In Mexico he just gets booed because people are pissed that they took the title off of ADR (Alberto Del Rio) to put it on Vikingo, and so it is kind of the Roman Reigns thing. ‘Oh, this is who you guys wanna be a star,’ that guy, right?”
Despite Vikingo’s strong in-ring work and likable persona, the audience didn’t want to be told who to cheer for. Konnan explained that the backlash wasn’t fair to Vikingo personally—but it was real.
“That’s really what it is, because the guy’s nice, he’s personable, he’s cool with the fans, he’s a good wrestler. He doesn’t really deserve that heat, but nevertheless, he has it.”
Instead of fighting the crowd reactions, AAA creative decided to lean into them. Vikingo’s heel turn wasn’t just logical—it gave him an outlet to unleash everything fans had thrown at him during his babyface run.
“We had to go with it. Yes (he is a good heel). Sometimes people are just waiting to turn so they can get all that out of them, all the s**t that people have been telling them as a babyface… and you’re like, ‘When I become heel, it’s on.’ That’s what’s happened with him.”
The timing of this shift, coming right after the WWE-AAA deal, adds even more weight to the decision. Vikingo went from indie darling to WWE-backed megastar in a blink—and the crowd pushed back hard.
Do you think El Hijo del Vikingo fits better as a heel? Was the crowd right to reject the forced babyface push? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
November 4, 2025 2:07 pm
Disqus Comments Loading...