Idk, logically they should be, but it doesn´t really seem like that. WB and Shiki pretty much look irrelevant in the crew, while only Harald seems like someone Rocks respects for his strength. I thought WB would always be at least above Garp in the story based on MF tbh, but it doesn´t seem like that´s how it´s going in the flashback.
Of course, it´s kind of pathetic to be like the men in their 30s aren´t in their primes yet, but that seems like the intention. I guess WB at this point would be Weevil level,idk? I would honestly prefer him just losing on GV while trying to protect his captain, instead of him running away. The rest of the crew could be like ¨oh shit even WB lost to Garp/Garling/Gunko(whoever, it doesn´t really matter) we should get out of here!¨
The real shock here is that Big Mom is kind of the biggest badass of the crew? Idk if it´s because of the simping thing and she´s not part of it. But even beyond that, she kind of seems to have her shit figured out and is doing her own plans and stuff. Pretty cool I guess.