Edit: Lol just when I post that... it plays out exactly like I said vs that Viper.....
Come on, it was against Viper, she's the exception, not the rule in this case
Well I've seen plenty of MDR since Vanilla SF4. He's gone toe to toe against the best and has a very good record against them. I remember how in old SF4 tournaments, he would be the front man for his team and just OCV everybody, at least in the early part of the tournament. But what he lacks is a chance to prove himself on a worldwide scale. Too bad he didn't get a invite to Shadowloo Showdown like some of his fellow Japanese players who aren't as well known because they haven't traveled overseas yet(like KOK, the top Evil Ryu, who is going).
Pretty much the top 3 Rufus players in the world IMO is Justin, Ricky, and MDR. Since Kindevu gave him up a while ago I don't think anybody else has really put themselves in the same class with those 3 so it's not like there are a whole lot of people in my argument.
Kindevu is a great player, but I feel like his inability to stick with just one character is his downfall. He's very talented, but it's almost like he's spreading his skill over several characters instead of concentrating on just one. IMO he was at his best when he played Rufus in Vanilla and Yun in AE. Aside from that we've seen his good, but not great Seth, Cammy, and occasionally Viper. And he had a awful Akuma that he used during the EVO stream just because he wanted to counterpick a Sagat player lol, good thing he still won but he was dropping the easiest combos. Basically I don't think he can win a American Major(for example) unless he commits to one character.