I just saw mention that someone closed an Elite out of the bag and commented that he should get reps with it after it seasons. I will concede that after working with a gripper for a period of time, doing normal closes, a gripper will get a bit smoother in operation, but I have not had grippers "weaken". Excluding those piece of shit Heavy Grips, of course.
I would advance the idea that once you post Elite or better closes in your GB log, you are forced to enter the MM ladder. Or leave the board. ;)