WWE’s Ezekiel: ‘The ultimate dream is for Elias and I to hold the tag team championships’

Debuts and returns are always expected on WWE’s post-WrestleMania edition of Raw, but Ezekiel was one fans did not see coming.

The familiar face introduced himself to Kevin Owens that night as Elias’ younger brother, and the two have been at odds ever since. Owens has desperately been trying to prove that Elias and Ezekiel are indeed the same people while Zeke has been adamant that they’re not.

The storyline has become a guilty pleasure among members of the WWE Universe, largely due to Owens’ entertaining antics and ability to make everything he’s involved in work. Ezekiel has also been more relevant than Elias was in the years preceding his sudden disappearance from WWE TV in August 2021.

“I can’t believe it! I’m in the WWE! It’s a dream come true,” Ezekiel told Daily DDT about his Raw run so far. “I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life. Growing up, my brother and I wanted to be WWE Superstars. He got there before I did, but now I’m here and it’s exciting. Elias walked so that Zeke could speak. I’m forever grateful.”

When asked about where he was prior to his arrival on Raw and why fans weren’t already aware of his existence, he noted that Elias began training for wrestling straight out of high school and obviously got to WWE much quicker than he did.

Zeke, on the other hand, spent his time working hard at the gym before connecting with an unnamed higher-up in WWE. Despite his lack of in-ring experience, he was brought in for the post-WrestleMania Raw and hasn’t looked back.

He’s not surprised Owens has attempted to claim that they’re the same person given the strong resemblance between the two but feels he needs to leave well enough alone and accept that he has his own identity.

“I think something snapped in Kevin a little while back,” Ezekiel said. “I think it was around the time he was messing with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. You got to be a little crazy to get in there with The Texas Rattlesnake as is. His most recent theory that I’ve been Ezekiel all along and that’s how I passed the test? Of course, yes, that much is true. I have been Ezekiel all along, but for him to say I somehow had some sort of previous career as Elias which was ultimately a tribute to the real Elias who must have passed away years prior and only now I decided to be Ezekiel, is… there are some far-out conspiracy theories in the world. That is certainly one of them.”

Ezekiel and Owens finally faced off at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on June 5. Ezekiel pushed Owens to the limit but ultimately came up short, though he went ahead and challenged Owens to a rematch on the June 13 edition of Raw.

He doesn’t know what the future holds beyond that but hopes that a win over Owens will put their rivalry to rest once and for all.

“If I win, does Kevin all of a sudden say, ‘Oh, he must be who he says he is’? And if he wins, does that prove anything? I’m not totally sure what’s going on there,” he said. “What I do know is that he’s been a total thorn in my side for weeks now and he’s been trying to humiliate me every step of the way as I’m trying to enjoy my rookie season. Either way, we’re going to go at it and we’ll see what the outcome brings.”

What would ultimately prove Ezekiel right is if Elias resurfaced on Raw and appeared alongside his younger brother, but he claims to have not heard from him in many months. Elias last reached out by text congratulating Zeke on his Raw debut in April, but Zeke has had no interaction with him since then despite attempting to reach out on multiple occasions.

“That’s the interesting thing to me,” he said. “He has been [M.I.A.]. Since I showed up on Raw, and believe me, I’ve tried to reach out. You probably saw that some of the texts have been unanswered. I reach out here and there and haven’t heard anything. I recently reached out to our mom to see if she’s heard anything and where he’s at. I imagine he’s out there doing his own thing, playing some local bar shows and things like that. Soul-searching and things like that. Who knows what he’s doing, but I’d like to think he’s proud of me and what I’m doing.”

Elias was last seen on Raw in August 2021 in the form of a vignette. He teased a character change and walked away from a tombstone with his name on it. There was never any on-air indication of where that was supposed to lead.

Not only is he focused on beating Owens and capturing championships eventually, Ezekiel is also out seeking answers for Elias in hopes he can discover his whereabouts and ultimately bring him back to the red brand with him.

“I spend a lot of time thinking about that,” Ezekiel said. “I didn’t know what he was doing, but I can only assume he has his reasons. If you know Elias like I do, he doesn’t do anything for no reason. He’s always got some sort of method to his madness. I want to find out those reasons and that’s a little bit of what my journey is about.”

Zeke has his sights set on becoming tag team champion in WWE someday with his older brother. Other than his four brief reigns as 24/7 champion, Elias has also never held gold on any brand he’s been a part of, and thus Ezekiel feels it would be a meaningful moment for them to accomplish that goal together.

He appreciates all the support he’s gotten so far from his family and fans, who he refers to as his “Zeke freaks.” The Raw newcomer hopes his lofty aspirations also take him to bigger and better things such as the Money in the Bank briefcase and potentially even the Universal title if he can continue building momentum.

“The ultimate dream is for my brother and I to hold the tag team championships,” Ezekiel said. “That would be incredible, so whatever I got to do to make that happen, I’m willing to do it. I’ve got big dreams. The tag team championship with my brother is the biggest of dreams, but the Universal Championship, the U.S. Championship, these things would be amazing to get a hold of. There’s the Money in the Bank Ladder match coming up. The doors that would open to hold that briefcase.

“To make my older brother proud is worth it all,” he continued. “I can tell you how proud I was for years watching him do his thing and make the audiences go crazy and whatever else he’d do. I was so proud of him. To think my brother is out there supporting me, that’s what keeps me going. And to have the support of the WWE Universe, the Zeke freaks or whatever you want to call them, it’s overwhelming at times. It’s awesome.”

Catch Ezekiel every Monday night on WWE Raw at 8/7c on USA Network.