Oldest of the James siblings and the natural caretaker of the family, Ezekiel “Zeke” James grew up under the long shadow cast by his uncle, Appalachian wrestling outlaw Frank Dylan James. FDJ wrestled on a bad knee for years before losing a leg in a moonshine still explosion, and spent the rest of his days hobbling around on a peg leg and crutches while drilling into his nieces and nephews the importance of family, loyalty, and a good right hook.

Eric Dane Senior did his part, too — teaching the James kids the ropes, teaching them the business, keeping them alive in the ring — but he never tried to domesticate them. He knew better than to breed the redneck out of a James.

Of all three siblings, Zeke was the one who took training the most seriously. He learned holds, learned positioning, learned the difference between a wristlock and a wristwatch. He didn’t prefer technical wrestling, but he respected it. And when the time came to fight, he mixed FDJ’s outlaw scrapping with a simple, efficient, brutally effective big-man style.

Zeke debuted in small Appalachian mudshows, often wrestling twice in a night — once with Zeb, once with Cherry Mae at ringside. By his late twenties he was a cornerstone of the James Gang, the “grown-up” in the trio, and the man Eric Dane Jr. trusts when things get bad.