We can agree to disagree on this. The cooler RONI was a reflection of how the West PAC warm pool acted to partially negate the warm ENSO influence, as evidenced by the high residence time of the MJO in phases 4-6 and the Aleutian ridging. That is not typical super El Niño, regardless of the fact that it was also a warm result.
Not complicated....+ SST anomalies don't have the same capacity to alter forcing schemes when surrounded by a sea of warmth. ....same reason a 980mb low is much stronger when there is a 1050mb high upstream as opposed to a 1020mb high. its all about the gradient. CC is making this a more prevalent issue that it had been in the past.