There is no reliable source for
Wario actually being seriously, “considered for a Mario clone but he deserved better”. In addition, I haven’t been able to find hard sources on Japanese character discussion. Sakurai did say, “If I cut all the clone characters, I wouldn’t have been able to even add one new character. However, I could have made Wario using the same body shape and attacks as Mario” (
Japanese). He also states that if he cut Roy and Marth or Mewtwo, he might have been able to add Wario, but the Mario representation was too much (
Japanese). There’s nothing there that says Wario was cut for
deserving better.
Dedede being next in line, or Sakurai choosing between Dedede and the clones, might also be false information. No Japanese sources exist for this comment. Considering that it Sakurai has stated that there was no option between one new character, or the clones in the Melee polls, I’m leaning towards this being false.