Moondog Spot

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Not to be confused with Larry Latham, director of An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island.
Moondog Spot
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Trained byHerb Welch
Debut1977

Larry Wayne Booker (June 6, 1952 – November 29, 2003), better known by his ring names Moondog Spot and Larry Latham, was an American professional wrestler.[1]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1977–1981)

Booker debuted in 1977 under the ring name Larry Latham. Latham formed a tag team with Carl Fergie called "The Ragin' Cajuns" managed by Billy Spears in the Gulf Coast territory.

Danny Davis.[1] Their signature moment was the "Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl" against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee, which occurred on June 15, 1979[3] and won Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Feud of the Year in 1992.[4] This served as a precursor to the "hardcore" style that was popularized by Extreme Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s.[2]

World Wrestling Federation and Memphis (1981–1987)

Years later, Booker resurfaced as "Moondog Spot", a member of

The Rock 'n' Roll Express, and Midnight Express.[3] With scraggly hair and beards, Spot and Rex wore tattered blue jeans and simple black boots to the ring, carrying their trademark oversized, dinosaur-looking bones, which were often used as foreign objects when needed.[4][5]

The Moondogs became a regular gimmick in the Memphis promotion featuring a revolving door of wrestlers who teamed with Latham.

Wrestling Classic, defeating Terry Funk in the first round by count out, but losing to Junkyard Dog in the quarterfinals.[7][8] After the tournament, Spot was relegated to jobber status until leaving the company in 1987.[1]

Various promotions (1987–2003)

After leaving the WWF, he went to

The Moondogs gimmick.[1] For most of his career, he stayed in Memphis working for the United States Wrestling Association from 1991 to 1996,[1] where he won the USWA Southern Tag Team titles with Spike, Cujo and Splat.[4] He also worked in Smoky Mountain Wrestling from 1993 to 1994.[1] He would stick around Tennessee for the independent circuit mainly working for Power Pro Wrestling.[1] Latham later operated a wrestling school in Osceola, Arkansas.[2] During his few appearances in the independent circuit, he would usually team up with Moondog Puppy Love, working in Memphis Wrestling,[3] with April Pennington acting as their manager.[6] In March 2003, he made an appearance as Moondog Spot in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he teamed with Jim Duggan to defeat Mike Sanders and Disco Inferno.[1]

Death

On November 29, 2003, Booker suffered a heart attack in the ring during Jerry Lawler's "birthday bash" show in Memphis, Tennessee.[6] He was rushed to Methodist Central Hospital where he was pronounced dead at the age of 51.[1] A coroner attributed his death to complications from diabetes and other medical ailments.[2] Following the show, the crowd was informed of his death, a ten-bell salute was performed, and Brian Christopher asked the fans to pray for Booker's family, who had been in attendance.[3] Booker was buried at the Zion Hill Church Cemetery in Friendship, Tennessee; Lawler attended his funeral.[3]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Moondog Spot profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Marvez, Alex (December 5, 2003). "REPRISAL OF MOONDOG'S GREATEST MOMENT ENDS SADLY". Sun Suntinel. Archived from the original on 2021-07-01. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Mooneyham, Mike (December 7, 2003). "Moondog Spot, Joey Rossi Remembered". The Wrestling Gospel. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Coker, Kenneth (December 3, 2003). "A Tribute To Moondog Spot". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Mooneyham, Mike (December 28, 2019). "No matter the character, Randy Colley loved pro wrestling". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Oliver, Greg. "Moondog Spot dies during match". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1492825975
    .
  8. ^ "The Wrestling Classic results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  9. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  11. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  12. ^ "Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  13. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  14. ^ "CWA Heavyweight Championship history". Wrestling-Titles.com.
  15. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  16. ^ "History of the World Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved 2007-05-11.

External links

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