And the japanese tier list may have convinced some people
The Japanese have always ranked Wario in the top 10, or close to it, iirc. Keep in mind too that they use FD, Bf, SV and omegas only for stages too. Also, Abadangos Wario is ridiculous, taking games off Mr R and beating international monsters with him.
I'll admit that I started using Wario when I saw him ranked high in the 2nd Japanese tier list. I was glad to see him still ranked high by the 3rd iteration.
Idk about Warios, he's still pretty rare. I was the only Wario player this past weekend at Toryuken 4, and I only know of one other Wario up here in Ontario.
I'm not even a Wario main myself, he's my secondary whom I use when people take me to Lylat or Duck Hunt, which I prefer to use him in over Fox.