Have you ever realised that Ridley got in Smash through a misconception of a misconception?
E3 2001: Melee reveal, audience cheers for Samus, at-the-time a rarely seen and somewhat mythologised Nintendo character
That same E3: Metroid Prime is revealed, Samus becomes a mainstay again
Over time, people would discover archived uploads of that video and, not realising Samus hadn't had a new game since the SNES at that point and was considered a scarecly-seen but instantly crowd-pleasing figure a la Boba Fett, assume people were cheering over Ridley, starting the push for Ridley in Smash.
E3 2001: Melee reveal, audience cheers for Samus, at-the-time a rarely seen and somewhat mythologised Nintendo character
That same E3: Metroid Prime is revealed, Samus becomes a mainstay again
Over time, people would discover archived uploads of that video and, not realising Samus hadn't had a new game since the SNES at that point and was considered a scarecly-seen but instantly crowd-pleasing figure a la Boba Fett, assume people were cheering over Ridley, starting the push for Ridley in Smash.