Oda dropped the ball a tad. With the RS, not really with the exoskeleton.
You have to remember that Oda does not plan absolutely everything out in advance. When Oda had Sanji say that, he almost certainly had in mind that Sanji would have to swallow his pride at some point and wear the RS.
He probably also had in mind that he’d unlock the exoskeleton against Queen.
But that’s just a broad outline, the more in-depth developments had yet to come. He might not have planned for Sanji vs Page One at that stage, for example.
So the decision for Sanji to first use the RS, it didn’t really land and seems quite contradictory towards what he said there, because the situation really didn’t seem all that desperate. It just sort of come off as Sanji putting the RS on at the first opportunity he could get.
So this idea, that Sanji would have to swallow his pride- it is there, it’s just quite rushed and not really well developed. When Sanji said there that he’d never wear the RS- everyone knew that he would. No point giving him the RS otherwise. But I think most expected to come in some sort of last-gasp, desperate situation, which it… really wasn’t.
The exoskeleton doesn’t have that problem because unlike the RS, it’s not voluntary. Sanji has no choice in the matter here.
I don’t like the Germa powerups for him, but one thing I will say is that the groundwork for Sanji getting it is certainly all there. Nothing is an asspull. It’s just the first decision to wear the RS that came too quickly.