User blog comment:Fallenbladr/The Elite Guards Plot & Stuff/@comment-7890302-20141112233933/@comment-7890302-20141113013611

Still, that requires a lot of power. Byakuya was able to defeat an Espada with extreme ease without his Bankai, and only gotten much stronger. Roy beat one of the world powers, and Ywatch probably made him super strong. He was probably extremely powerful, so while Yamamato was far stronger, he must have noted his power as well. It wasn't entirely one sided. Mask still beat two captains with extreme ease, and Renji had to use Bankai to defeat him. They were extremely powerful, and shown more power then the supposed 'elite' ever did.