Fans were stoked to see Goku and Vegeta fight side by side in their god-surpassing forms in Dragon Ball Super chapter 84, which debuted on May 19, 2022.
Many fans are struck with awe at how far these two have come and often reflect upon the old days in the original Dragon Ball series before Goku possessed any Super Saiyan transformations or before Vegeta was even around. Goku's rivals were aplenty back then and there were far more characters closer in strength. Even Yamcha wasn't a far cry from the others.
Mercenary Tao
Tao's return as a cyborg was all too shocking as everyone believed him to be dead. However, his return offered a great character moment for Tien to show how far he has developed and that the past is behind him.
Tao is no doubt incredibly powerful and was Goku's first real threat in the series. It's doubtless that he is one of the strongest characters in the original series, but how high up it's hard to say given how easily Tien was able to dispatch him.
Yamcha
Yamcha climbed far through the ranks in Dragon Ball and even surpassed his former master, Roshi in strength. While the gap between him and the others has increased over the years, he likely wasn't much weaker than Krillin at this point in time. Yamcha displayed an impressive performance of ki control, being one of the first characters to create his own unique ki attack -- the Spirit Ball.
However, as usual in tournaments, Yamcha was out of luck by facing one of the toughest opponents in the first round. Despite his constant losses, he still gives fans some of the best fights in the Dragon Ball tournaments and it's unfortunate he has fallen out of favor in Dragon Ball Super.
Krillin
Krillin came a long way being able to keep up with Piccolo (though suppressed by weights) after formerly getting killed by a single kick from Tambourine. Piccolo constantly underestimated Krillin, not expecting Krillin could keep up in any capacity. Krillin showed true growth with how he fought strategically giving it everything he had against Piccolo.
He demonstrated his own personal growth as he attained the ability to fly, something Roshi was far too proud to do given it was discovered by his rival, Crane. Krillin always performs remarkably well against opponents stronger than himself, proving that strength isn't everything.
Drum
It's hard to know where to position Drum, but it seems unlikely the others had yet surpassed this demonic abomination. Drum at the time was superior to Tien, defeating him almost soundlessly. Tien did put up a good fight, but Drum ultimately gapped Tien by a decent margin.
However, Drum was incredibly insignificant to Goku who killed him with a single blow. While Tien has doubtless surpassed this former rival, there's no indication that Yamcha or Krillin did.
King Piccolo
King Piccolo seemed like an impossible obstacle to surpass when he first appeared. He defeated foe after foe effortlessly, defeating Roshi, Chiaotzu, and Goku. And he achieved even greater strength when he had the Dragon Balls restore his youth. He was the first character ever seen to destroy a city and did it effortlessly.
King Piccolo was eventually surpassed by Goku and his awakened powers, but King Piccolo still stands as one of the strongest characters in the original series, as well as one of the best Dragon Ball villains ever. It's amazing how even though he isn't the final villain of the original Dragon Ball series, it took some time for several of the other characters to surpass him.
Tien Shinhan
It seems likely Tien surpassed King Piccolo's strength given his confidence in defeating Goku. Tien was one of the few characters who actually witnessed King Piccolo at his full strength, as well as Goku at the time. He knew what kind of fight he was getting himself into against Goku and still believed he could win.
Before the end, he did acknowledge Goku was stronger but thought his speed would give him the advantage. Tien has always had a uniqueness for special abilities and not always raw strength to overcome his foes. This has been recurring throughout the series, making him one of the bravest Dragon Ball characters.
Mr. Popo
Mr. Popo's strength was almost abnormal to see after Goku defeated King Piccolo. This assistant was stronger than even King Piccolo and the guardian he served, Kami, was said to be even stronger.
Despite Kami being the one Goku was supposed to be instructed by, it appeared that most of his lessons came from Mr. Popo. Mr. Popo's full-out strength is never seen in Dragon Ball, but his placement below Kami and above Tien seems ideal -- especially given the fact he trains Tien, alongside a few of the others, in Dragon Ball Z.
Kami
Kami, the stronger half of his counterpart of King Piccolo, was incredible to see bound across the screen in his fights against Yamcha and Piccolo. While Kami was indeed the stronger half of his two selves, the reincarnated Piccolo proved to be far superior to both -- not only in strength but in cunning, as well.
Kami's mastery of martial arts was clear when he disguised himself as the human "hero" and made mocking movements that were actually carefully calculated attacks. Kami's speed was also to the point where most of the other fighters couldn't even watch. A recurring concept that continued into Dragon Ball Z was where fighters had to learn how to watch the speed of fighters based on their reflecting light.
Piccolo
Piccolo is known as a former Dragon Ball rival who became a valued friend in Dragon Ball Z, but in Dragon Ball, he was a deadly villain, proving to be stronger than all of those before him. He surpassed Kami, the one who was said to be the stronger half of the two beings. Though just as wicked as his father, King Piccolo, he completely eclipsed him in power.
However, his one match was Goku, the incredibly resilient and powerful Saiyan. Piccolo versus Goku is one of the greatest fights in the series and despite all of the dirty tactics Piccolo threw Goku's way, he just couldn't defeat him.
Goku
Unlike Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball Super, in the original Dragon Ball Goku stands above all of the rest as the strongest character. One of his primary goals throughout the series is to become the champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament and at last, in his battle against Piccolo, he succeeds.
Goku erased all other worries and kept his mind focused on his battle wanting to win the championship more than anything else. While Dragon Ball Z features the best moments of the franchise, had the series ended here it wouldn't have been a bad end.