If you are on the top, there's always someone who wanted to pull you down and take that spot. ETH and Ripple (XRP) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) have attempted but failed.
Technically speaking, Ethereum (the devs) never claimed to have any intention of surpassing Bitcoin in any way. It's as always the community behind it trying to act cool and hype up their investment in Ethereum.
BCH and XRP on the other hand have actually expressed how they think their rubbish coins are better than Bitcoin and should be the main vehicle in this industry. It's quite funny and pathetic at the same time.
Interesting fact is that Roger Ver has some form of involvement in XRP and he seems to own quite a large chunk of it as well. This could very well explain their shared anti Bitcoin ideology.