Here's a thread from way back in 2002 (goddamn, that was 14+ years ago!) asking if Krang, Bebop or Rocksteady would appear in the show:
http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/sho...ighlight=krang
Reading through that thread it puts into perspective how little people knew about the Mirage comics back then. People didn't know much about TMNT beyond the original cartoon, movies, or Archie comics back then but a few.