El Hijo del Vikingos sudden heel turn wasnt just a creative twistit was the result of real heat from fans who werent buying what AAA and WWE were selling.
After WWE acquired AAA earlier this year, Vikingo was quickly positioned as the new face of the companys Mexican brand. He defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the AAA Mega Championship, only to lose it soon after to Dominik Mysterio. But it wasnt the title change that drew the backlashit was how fast Vikingo was pushed as the top babyface.
Fans in Mexico didnt 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.
Despite Vikingos strong in-ring work and likable persona, the audience didnt want to be told who to cheer for. Konnan explained that the backlash wasnt fair to Vikingo personallybut it was real.
Instead of fighting the crowd reactions, AAA creative decided to lean into them. Vikingos heel turn wasnt just logicalit gave him an outlet to unleash everything fans had thrown at him during his babyface run.
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 blinkand 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.
