In this month's Rolling Stone magazine, there is a small mention of Axl under the small article, "VMA's Hit Rock Bottom". The article pretty much discusses how horrible the VMA's were this year with P. Diddy hosting, while in past year's they've been unpredictable and crazy:
"At their best, the VMA's are unpredictable and full of suprise buzz moments - like
Axl Rose's return back in 2002, or Britney Spears making out with Madonna the following year. But for the second year in a row, the show had no big moments or surprises."
I guess it goes to show that despite a mediocre-awesome performance, Axl sure had the world abuzz back in '02