PyPy was a thing and it could have been the basis of Python 3. In fact people DID keep using Python 2 long after Python 3 came out, even though Python 3 used C

PyPy was a thing and it could have been the basis of Python 3. In fact people DID keep using Python 2 long after Python 3 came out, even though Python 3 used CPython. So they may have gone for much bigger wins. Perl 6 was another matter since it changed the Perl language drastically.