Coleman looked incredible because his main competition became weaker. Shawn Ray, Levrone, and even Flex were shells of their former selves with Wheeler being the best of the 3 near the end of their era, but far from his best.
The physique Coleman presented in '96 & '97 were not far off from his best, yet he struggled to make top 10 those two years. When the greats from the 90's were in peak condition, they make Ronnie's main competition from his era look bad (Cutler, Dexter, Gunter, Wheeler/Levrone/Ray *way past their primes*).