When Being The Elite debuted in May 2016 very few could imagine it would turn into what it is today. The show started as video journal highlighting life on the road and eventually turned into serial television with storylines and character development while continuing to document life on the road.
One of the biggest backstage storylines of 2018 was the contract situations of The Elite. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, and Cody Rhodes were set to become free agents at the beginning of 2019. With rumors of them starting their own promotion, finishing up their dates with ROH and NJPW, and fielding offers from WWE, Being The Elite crafted a storyline that kept fans entertained until the clock finally struck midnight on New Year's Day.
Speaking to The New York Post, Cody Rhodes discussed the importance of Being The Elite and poking fun at others.
"If you?re able to have fun with yourself, nobody is safe from BTE. BTE is, on a personal level, super valuable to me because I try to be the most aware person ever and that means aware of the things that are wrong with me and BTE is one of the best things because it?s brought it out. It?s brought out my ego and these silly little things about wrestling," said Cody. "I think we take it pretty lightly on WWE. The more we do stuff with AEW, the more we are like, 'Well, that joke, we don?t need it.' But there?s some stuff because they have been in power for two decades and even more than that really without any competition, and I?m not dismissing that run TNA had during the Spike time. I?m just saying it was a blip to them versus the situation with the type of backing and the type of partners that WWE thinks we have and they?re right."
Cody continued, discussing WWE superstars staying away from mentioning the show. The New Day were featured on Episode 107 as Omega and The Bucks battled the WWE trio in a Street Fighter showdown. In the aforementioned Free Agent storyline, members of The Elite were visited by "H," a leather jacket wearing, sledgehammer carrying parody of Triple H portrayed by Kazarian, who tried to lure The Elite to WWE. The most-watched episode of Being The Elite is their infamous invasion of Raw.
"I think we take it pretty lightly. Like I was saying, they?ve had no one make fun of it. It?s been so taboo, so afraid to say anything about them, especially from a talent perspective to talk about it," said Cody. "We?re going to make mistakes, but there are some funny stuff that?s out there that?s cool to bring up. A lot of it though, if you bring Triple H on ?Being the Elite,? Triple H is a pretty over character. I?m sure he?s not pissed off about that. I?m sure he?s flattered. He knocked me out. He possessed me. I don?t even know how it worked."
Cody finished by adding, "So I?m sure that will continue. The people who get the biggest kick out of that are the guys who work for WWE."
Along with Being The Elite, Cody Rhodes and AEW started another YouTube series titled Road To Double or Nothing. The series takes fans behind the scenes as Cody and AEW gear up for their first event as a promotion. A new episode is expected to drop tomorrow, Mar. 7.