Bro.. Let me help you actually.
It doesn't matter to me if he has played Shinnok since day 1.
Why? You may ask. Well, I'll tell you.
Your argument only furthers my belief on why Cowboy isn't top 10 in my book.
Cowboy, on skill alone, didn't win shit.
Cowboy, using a broken character, won something.
See, do you understand?
Cowboy hasn't won anything without a broken character in his pocket..
I truly believe his recent accomplishments were more about the Broken character, than it was about the player.
Until he wins something without the aide of a broken character, I wouldn't put him near the top 5.
I hope to see him wim without a broken character and prove many of us wrong. Def want anyone with aspirations to be a top player, find that success.
There were ZERO Shinnoks in Top 8 at EVO, the World Championships for Mortal Kombat and the most important tournament in the scene (and this was right after Shinnok buffs before people started learning the Boneshaper matchup really well).
Regardless, this argument of yours that using a top tier character somehow nullifies someones accomplishments against the best players in the world (who are also using top tier characters) is quite frankly bullshit. You don't have to like Woundcowboy or think he's Top 5. I certainly don't think he is one of the 5 best players in the world either. But if the character was super broken as you claim, don't you think the majority of the best players in the world would have picked him up with thousands of dollars on the line?
The fact of the matter is, pretty much every major tournament for MKX has had a wide variety of characters in Top 8. Shinnok is a very strong character, is easy to pick up and learn, and could probably use a few slight normalizations. But he's not broken, and I don't think you could lay out a concise or convincing argument why he's SO much better than other top tiers. No character in MKX is legitimately broken at the moment, regardless what some people with agendas might tell you (and this is coming from someone who doesn't even play Shinnok or top 5 characters).
With all of that said, WoundCowboy is running scared at the moment. You can't talk that much trash and not put your money where your mouth is. We need King vs. Cowboy. Step up to the plate boys, get this done.