Booker T Thinks AEW Should Have Built Up El Hijo Del Vikingo Prior To Dynamite Match

Last week's "AEW Dynamite" main event of Kenny Omega battling the debuting El Hijo del Vikingo, was announced late in the previous week with little onscreen hype or fanfare, which became a hot topic of discussion going into the show. Whether that discussion would've been as heated without the encounter being marketed as a "dream match" remains an open question, but that billing was definitely part of the discourse. And when there's contentious wrestling discourse, "WWE NXT" color commentator and two-time Hall of Famer Booker T is going to discuss it on "The Hall of Fame, which he did Monday evening.

"Bringing a guy in, nobody really knows who he is, not really sure what his abilities are, you may not tune in to watch it," Booker responded after being asked if he liked AEW putting wrestlers without previous TV exposure in main events. "And this — what was his name again, Vikingo? — this dude, taking on Kenny Omega, that was an extraordinary acrobatic, entertaining feat, just put it that way. But that dude can do everything. When I say everything, I mean everything. Yeah, I think he should've been built a little bit better. I think a package would have done a whole lot of good on someone like that. Showing exactly what this guy really can do."

AEW did, in fact, air video packages showcasing Vikingo on the previous Friday's "AEW Rampage" and earlier in last week's "Dynamite." And despite Booker's concerns, it was already reported last Thursday by Wrestlenomics that the match was a ratings success, with "Dynamite" up significantly and the show defying recent patterns of audience decline throughout its runtime. The audience held steady throughout, even peaking for Omega vs. Vikingo in the key demo of adults 18 to 49.