Middle child of the James siblings and nephew of long-time Eric Dane Sr. ally Frank Dylan James, Zeb grew up in a world where wrestling was as normal as breathing and as chaotic as a family reunion fistfight. FDJ wrestled for years before losing his leg in a moonshine-still explosion, and he passed his outlaw spirit directly to his nephews and niece.

Dane Sr., recognizing the value of FDJ’s brand of rural insanity, taught the James kids the business side of pro wrestling and the fundamental mechanics they needed to stay alive. He made no attempt to “polish” them — that was Frank’s job, and Frank’s version of training involved a bottle of whiskey, a barn, and a lot of screaming about “hippie faygits.”

Zeb took to this world naturally. From the time he was ten he was jumping off barn roofs, hayloft railings, sheds, tractors, and the family pickup truck. Frank never once stopped him — he only yelled, “Tuck yer chin, dumbass!”

By his teens Zeb was wrestling in outlaw rings across Appalachia. By his twenties, he, Zeke, and Cherry Mae were unavoidable — a trio of charismatic, dangerous, wildly entertaining country scrappers Dane Sr. saw dollar signs in from miles away.