well, tbh, we don't know that. from the looks of it, even without his flames he was still powerful enough to have mature and vice join him again....and those two would hardly join a weakling. if anything, this is the perfect way of showing anti-KOF tw-ts how his flames are simply an extension of his awesome power. not the source of his power.
He's cool from the waist up, but yeah, the white pants killed it. Now if he was wearin' all white...
It's just crazy how his whole move list has changed. He is literally not the same character, for better or worse. C'mon, give us somethin' to remember him by, coulda at least keep the the SRK, lord knows he needs it.