2002 was the year he tried to redeem himself after coming in too heavy and out of shape in '01 and narrowly escaping with the title as Jay made his first big run at claiming the Sandow.
Everyone told Ronnie that he should come in similar to his 98 shape in NY when he won his first Sandow. So, Chad and Ronnie went to the drawing board and did "exactly that," as Chad said once over at Mayhem. But obviously Ronnie didn't look anywhere close to his 98 showing. I remember Ronnie's biceps were shriveled up and gone! His freakiness was nowhere to be found, and he was flat as a pancake off the stove.
Had Jay not sat out 2002 because he was pissed he lost in '01, he could very well have won a bit earlier. But the "ifs ands or buts..." can't ever be proven.
Then Ronnie came back to for the redemption of a lifetime, in 2003 and came in at nearly 300lbs, and ripped as can be- but not nearly as sharp as he could have been at a lighter bodyweight.
Some people speculate the reason that Ronnie is continuously coming in bigger is because that's all he can do now. There is no going back to his 98 form, because he can't due to whatever reason.
