I understand this is basically Fanservice: The Game, but are there really so many people who are against Shovel Knight just because the game doesn't "deserve" to be in Smash in such a significant fashion? For me, the only thing that sets one character apart from another is how fun they are to play.
I think Shovel Knight would be a lot of fun to play! Certainly wouldn't be my first choice, but I'm hardly going to complain if it happens.
A lot of people think the argument that a fighter "deserves to be in smash" is a bad one, but I'll highly disagree here.
For example pokemon. Pikachu and Charizard are two of the biggest pokemon in the series. Their seniority and mascot status greatly contribute to the fact that the deserve to be in a fighting game. You can argue that they have some of the more boring movesets in the Smash series. Whereas fighting pokemon like Hitmonchan, or Hawlucha, who'd be more geared towards a fighting game don't deserve to get in because they just don't have the status some other pokemon have.
This could be said for many minor characters in different franchises. When it comes to 3rd parties, they have to be huge. Sonic was literally Nintendos biggest rival in the 90s. Pacman is the biggest video game star of the 80s, and maybe of all time. Ryu is the biggest fighting game character or all time. Shovel Knight is a one game character, that has seen decent reviews and average sales.
Before Pacman was announced, a lot of people wanted him in the game, but often it was brought up "LOL HOW WUD HE FIGHT? And usually people would say "I don't care how he fights, hes the biggest video game character ever, he deserves to get in."
Shovel Knight is so different because he appeals to much smaller crowd, and doesn't have any icon status whatsoever.....even in the indie world. Most people have nothing wrong with the character, and he could have a neat gimmick. It just feels like such a poor choice compared to other characters on the roster, and other characters that could have been.
Honestly, at the end of the day, people want to see their favorite characters in Smash. I wanted Palutena, but was disappointed by her moveset. Still I'd rather have her in the game than not, and many people would rather see their favorites attempted rather than pushed aside.