It may be Black Friday in the retail world, but for pro wrestling — specifically, lucha libre’s AAA — it’s shaping up to be a good Friday for fans.
On Thanksgiving Day, the promotion announced that the Alianzas event from Puebla, Mexico, will stream live on both the AAA and WWE YouTube channels at 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT.
One of the marquee matches is a showdown weeks in the making: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. El Grande Americano. Vikingo’s high-flying style contrasts with Americano’s adaptability, but it’s the escalating personal animosity — fueled by the fans — that makes this matchup a true must-see.
El Hijo del Vikingo: The Big Dog of AAA
El Hijo del Vikingo has had a rough stretch in Mexico in recent months. Shortly after WWE announced it was acquiring AAA, Vikingo defeated Alberto El Patrón in May to win his second AAA Mega Championship.
The victory angered many fans, who idolize El Patrón — formerly Alberto Del Rio in WWE — despite his controversies outside the ring. While his popularity may surprise U.S. audiences, El Patrón has undergone a full-fledged career resurgence in Mexico.
In June, retired wrestler and lucha libre icon Konnan — part of AAA’s creative team — explained the phenomenon on his Keepin’ It 100 podcast: “This might be the greatest work he’s ever done, because it’s him trying to show everybody he’s changed when nobody would give him a chance.”
Vikingo ending Alberto’s run sparked a major backlash against the once-popular high-flyer. More recently, Konnan compared the crowd’s reaction to Vikingo to the way WWE fans reacted to Roman Reigns in the mid-2010s, when the company pushed Reigns against fan sentiment.
“It is kind of the Roman Reigns thing. ‘Oh, this is who you guys wanna be a star, that guy, right?’ 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,” Konnan said.
Making matters worse is how fully fans south of the border have embraced El Grande Americano, a character once meant to mock lucha libre and its culture.
After struggling against luchadores, Chad Gable traveled to Mexico to learn the secrets of lucha libre. Then, in March, El Grande Americano — an alleged legendary luchador — made his WWE debut.
In reality, it was Gable under a mask, though he denied it. Billed from “The Gulf of America” and entering to a mariachi rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” Gable openly mocked lucha culture. During his run, Americano went undefeated against luchadores, often loading his mask with a weapon to score victories.
But when Gable suffered an injury early in the summer, the gimmick seemed finished — until something unexpected happened.
In his absence, German star Ludwig Kaiser took over the role. Like Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard in Iron Man, the transition was surprisingly smooth. Kaiser threw himself into the character and quickly won over fans with his fluent Spanish, use of Mexican slang, and habit of singing Mexican folk songs after matches.
As his popularity surged, chants of “Grande, Hermano, Eres Mexicano” (“Grande, Brother, You Are Mexican”) echoed across arenas in Mexico. That unwavering support fueled Vikingo’s anger, which ultimately led to a tense confrontation.
On October 25 at Héroes Inmortales, Vikingo cut a heel promo, declaring himself a real Mexican over Dominik Mysterio, who had beaten Vikingo for the Mega Championship in September in Las Vegas. He went further, comparing himself to the iconic Mexican fighter Canelo Álvarez.
Having heard enough, Americano appeared to confront him. He said the only thing Vikingo had in common with Canelo was that both had lost their respective championships on the same weekend in Vegas.
Americano pushed further, telling Vikingo, “You’re in my house, with my people!”
Vikingo responded by laughing in his face, saying, “You’re not Mexican.” He then issued a challenge for a match in Puebla, threatening to put Americano in the hospital and prove he was “Americano’s daddy.” That was enough to set Americano off, and the two began brawling.
It was a fiery segment that, despite being in Spanish, was easy to understand: this is a deeply personal rivalry — the son of Mexico against its adopted child, whom fans seemingly love more than their own.
Friday night’s showdown between Vikingo and Americano at AAA’s Alianzas is poised to be the perfect primer for a huge wrestling weekend, capped off by WWE’s Survivor Series on Saturday.
