5 Reasons Why Being the Elite is the Best Wrestling Series of All-Time

We live in a blessed time where wrestling as a whole is more popular now than it ever has been. As such, we wrestling fans crave the inside scoop, the dirt sheet revelations and the sweet, sweet Dave Meltzer news to pump through our veins. Because of this, however, nothing is really sacred anymore. In our connected digital age, everyone can be guilty of knowing too much, purely through the ease of access in this time. I think it’s fair to say, for this reason, wrestling isn’t always as fun as it should be.

Other wrestling vlogs have come in the past, a famous example being Zack Ryder’s old show Z! – True Long Island Story, which helped the WWE star get over massively when the company was barely featuring him on television. The show, however, eventually faded away and left something of a void on the internet.

That’s where Being The Elite comes in. BTE is a YouTube series that chronicles the globe-trotting adventures of some of the key figures of the wrestling stable Bullet Club, such as The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll and Adam Page, in weekly instalments.

Throughout the course of almost 100 episodes so far, BTE mixes reality and fiction/kayfabe, giving us an insight into the highs and lows of being part of wrestling’s hottest group in recent memory. Every episode pushes the behind-the-scenes storyline of the Bullet Club further, with some events even transcending the medium of the series and culminating on actual PPV broadcasts.

Between their mix of comedy and drama, Being The Elite always makes for an entertaining watch.

Here are 5 reasons why Being The Elite is the greatest wrestling series of all time.

 

1. It Takes The Time To Build The Roster

Being The Elite consists of six main cast members and doesn’t forsake any of them over the course of its episodic nature. We get time with each of the roster to better understand their characters and what makes them tick.

For example, the past few episodes have revealed that “The Villain” Marty Scurll has always wanted to be a pop star. Often we will see him belting out some classic songs, such as Complicated by Avril Lavigne, and Hit Me Baby, One More Time by Britney Spears. His ultimate dream is to sing in front of a sold-out crowd of thousands, giving us another layer to “The Villain” – as successful as he surely is now, even he still has a life goal to be truly happy.

We learn that Adam Page is ‘hung’ (he is “The Hangman” after all), but also has penis envy, Matt Jackson can accurately guess the amount of money you have just from smelling it, and that Nick Jackson has occasional visions of the future, predicting forthcoming events in the Bullet Club’s timeline.

As ridiculous as some of these sound, because wrestling is already crazy enough, they add elements to Being The Elite which make the gang even more likeable.

 

2. It Promotes Other Wrestlers

It is known within the industry that some wrestlers would use their position and influence to secure their place at the top of the mountain, holding other, more deserving talent down in the process. Bullet Club is one of the most famous factions in the word of wrestling and I would dare you to find one wrestling show where at least one person isn’t wearing a BC t-shirt.

With that said, it would seem easy for people like Bullet Club to use their position to only focus on themselves within the show, creating a biased universe in which only their entity matters. After watching countless episodes of Being The Elite, that just is not the case.

Take for example Flip Gordon, someone who is not a member of the Club but who is featured regularly on the show. He’s featured in angles, such as ‘Where Do You Think You’re Going?’, where he would be fooled into trusting The Young Bucks and other Club members, resulting in a beat-down that followed a handshake or some other kind of entrapment from Matt Jackson.

Of late, following an emotional heart-to-heart with Matt, Flip has been often considered by The Bucks for enrolment in Bullet Club and is fighting to gain a spot at ALL IN, as well as for the affection of Brandi Rhodes, who is married to Cody.

We have also seen the rise, fall and rise again of Joey Ryan, who, through his penis-based talent, had come to the attention of the Club. Adam Page has called out Ryan as a ‘penis pretender’, after it was revealed on the show that Ryan had paid off other talents to let him flip them with his member.

It’s this extra attention to the supporting cast that makes Being The Elite a well-rounded show, adding to its own universe and helping boost other talents who you may not have been aware of prior to watching. Long may it continue.

 

3. It Builds Storylines

Being The Elite understands its audience and knows what wrestling fans want. BTE uses the show to build upon angles you may otherwise only see in the ring.

We have seen the continuation of the massive rivalry between Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes, both battling over who is the true leader of Bullet Club, and how the rest of BC ties in. We see Cody trying to turn the Bucks to his side, reassuring them that ‘Bullet Club is fine’ and his gradual manipulation from within, even using non-BC member Flip Gordon to his benefit.

While Omega is based in Japan (most of the time), we can only bear witness as “The American Nightmare” shapes the Club to his design.

To be frank, Being The Elite can really play out like a soap opera. Heck, in storyline, they even killed off ex-Bullet Club member Adam Cole because he poisoned Nick. This was done to explain his departure from the stable to make way for his real life debut in NXT (although they have since been haunted by his ghost). Additionally, episode 52 “Bullet Club Gets A Villain” gave the entire backstory of how Marty Scurll came to join Bullet Club.

There are just so many aspects to BTE that help offer such a complete experience to being a viewer in their wrestling journey.

 

4. It’s A Brilliant Marketing Platform

Being a part of the wrestling business and their own storylines, the BTE cast members of course know what is coming up in their respective schedules, and they use this to promote events and matches on the show.

In the continuity of BTE, it is established that Nick Jackson can see into the future. BTE has used this plot device to tease upcoming matches, most notably Kenny Omega vs. Cody Rhodes at Ring of Honor’s PPV event, Supercard of Honor, before it was officially announced by the company.

They’ve also utilised the platform to promote their own upcoming, self-funded PPV, ALL IN, which they had teased details of, before recently announcing the location as being in Chicago.

You have to admit, the show is a terrific marketing strategy for the group. By taking advantage of the YouTube platform, the channel has gained nearly 200,000 subscribers, which will definitely be earning them a nice bit of ad-revenue on the side.

They also use the show to push other merchandise and new catchphrases, such as ‘Bullet Club is Fine’ and ‘BTE is Drug Free’, which often quickly make way for newer shirts.

There’s a reason Bullet Club is a consistent top-seller on Pro Wrestling Tees and Hot Topic.

 

5. It’s A Reminder That Being A Wrestler Is Hard

For some, travelling the world and seeing a different city every night is the epitome of living the dream. Exploring the world and performing in front of die-hard fans, though, isn’t all glitz and glamour.

As Being The Elite often takes the time to remind us, life on the road is hard. Sometimes, very. Being a wrestler is a demanding business where you’ll often spend more time travelling between shows on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis than with your own families.

The Young Bucks are both husbands and fathers, respectively, and don’t shy away from letting the viewers know what a gruelling schedule they must keep, especially as one of, if not the most in-demand tag team on the planet right now.

The Bucks are often lucky if they can spend more than an entire day with their loved ones. A recent episode saw them wearily detail how they would only get a mere 18 hours back with family before having to get back out on the road.

For all its fun and frolics, BTE is a regular and grounding reminder of just how easy it can be to take wrestlers for granted and the amount they actually have to give up to entertain us, the fans, on a frequent basis. It’s a sobering fact worth remembering and a sure-fire incentive to support your favourite wrestlers and indy shows by buying tickets and merch.