BTE Proves The Elite is Ready To Exorcise Pro-Wrestling’s Demons

With the Bullet Club increasingly growing notoriety at the time, The Bucks wanted to showcase their talents even further by starting a BTE channel. What they may not have anticipated was the series growing to such unprecedented heights in the industry for an entity not named WWE.

The “Being The Elite” YouTube series, or BTE for short, has been quite compelling since The Young Bucks opened up with the pilot episode in May of 2016. It began with a humorous, behind the scenes view of the Independent stars voyage through their day to day lives in the wrestling business.

Along with their ‘Elite’ stablemate and best friend Kenny Omega and the other members of the group, they began to produce major story-lines that crossed over into their nightly wrestling performances. Over the last 2 and a half years, the BTE channel has grown to a 253,000 plus, subscriber based episodic series that has garnered rave reviews from the pro wrestling community.

The question that is often asked by wrestling fans, “When are ‘The Elite’ going to sign with the WWE?”  It’s rumored that they will only sign as a group,  demonstrating a united brotherhood that hasn’t been seen since The Radicals signed with the WWE back in 2000.  We all fantasize about matches such as Kenny Omega vs Seth Rollins or The Young Bucks vs the New Day actually taking place inside the squared circle.

Recent ‘Being The Elite’ episodes have been doing a brilliant job of stirring up rumors of their departures from Ring Of Honor and New Japan. Skits which include ‘H’ actively pursuing ‘Elite’ members to sign with the WWE. He has left notes and gift bags behind for Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and ‘Hangman’ Page. ‘H’ has also attacked Cody, leaving him in a sprawled out heap in the locker room. In turn, this possessed Cody into rehashing WWE historical facts and figures. 

In the most recent episode, Cody has truly lost his marbles. While members of The Elite are engaging in conversation, Cody is in a corner causally throwing super kicks, doing the ‘DX’ chop and gyrating his hips like Rick Rude. It takes an exorcism from ‘The Fallen Angel’ Christopher Daniels to revert Cody back to his normal condition.

The sheer brilliance of Cody’s impersonations are worth watching just this episode alone. Add on the subtle teases of no one showing up to Marty Scurll’s New Years Eve party, and it’s no wonder there is speculation that this group could be packing their bags for greener pastures. The group has also said that they are no longer associated with Bullet Club, announcing that they have released their final Bullet Club shirts and are now just known as ‘The Elite’.

Recent reports have speculated that The Elite have filed for trademarks and beginning the process of starting up their own wrestling promotion. ‘All Elite Wrestling’ would be headlined by members of ‘The Elite’, Chris Jericho and Jim Ross. Tony Khan, The co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been rumored to lead AEW and become the primary financial backer of the new promotion.

There is no secret that the WWE has been wrestling juggernaut for the last 20 years. They continue to expand their Global brand with NXT, NXTUK and providing an array of World class tournaments to showcase talent.

Yet their flagship brands, RAW and Smackdown Live are referred to as stale and boring products that are poorly written. Yet the WWE have become so dominant Worldwide and have monopolized the industry, that the current state of their main shows are passed off since they are still producing company record profits. 

Wrestling’s current state is extremely healthy. NJPW, ROH, Pro Wrestling Guerrila, EVOLVE and Over The Top promotions provide tremendous alternatives for fans that find WWE unwatchable. At the head of the independent class are ‘The Elite’ faction. What better way for this group to continue to produce an innovative and creative wrestling product than to start their own promotion?

The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Cody have performed for the WWE before and Cody has a keen mind for the wrestling business. Coming from a wrestling family where his father was a head booker for the WWE’s former top rival ‘World Championship Wrestling’, this group could spearhead a movement that could provide a profitable alternative to the norm that is World Wrestling Entertainment.

Time will tell if ‘The Elite’ will go out on their own or ultimately sign with the WWE. Yet one thing will remain constant in this whole situation. We all will be heavily entertained and we all will probably be trolled during the process. Kudos to this marvelous YouTube series and the endless speculation that comes with their fresh and well thought out stories they tell.