The Moondogs were a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWF) and in the

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

promotions: the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...

(CWA), which became the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...

(USWA). They were known for wrestling in frayed blue jeans, sporting shaggy blond hair and beards and carrying animal bones around with them (which they chewed and used as weapons).

Origins

The name "

moondog Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), known professionally as Moondog, was an American composer, musician, performer, music theoretician, poet and inventor of musical instruments. Largely self-taught as a composer, his ...

" seems to have originated with American musician Louis T. Hardin (1916–1999) who used the nickname from the 1940s.Scotto, Robert. Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography. Process Music edition (22 November 2007) His instrumental song "Moondog Serenade" inspired DJ

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

to use the Moondog moniker in the 1950s until legal action from Hardin resulted in a judgement in Hardin's favor. Had album was used under his name in 1969 called

Moondog Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), known professionally as Moondog, was an American composer, musician, performer, music theoretician, poet and inventor of musical instruments. Largely self-taught as a composer, his ...

The Moondog gimmick in wrestling was born in 1973 when

Lonnie Mayne Ronald Doyle "Lonnie" Mayne (September 12, 1944 – August 14, 1978) was an American professional wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s who frequently went by the name Moondog Mayne. He wrestled in various National Wrestling Alliance territories, as ...

became Moondog Mayne in the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

. He continued using the gimmick in Portland, Texas, California and Georgia. He died in 1978 after an automobile accident.

World Wrestling Federation (1980–1987)

Moondog King and Moondog Rex double team Rick Martel

In 1980, Moondog Hawkins wrestled in the WWF, in which the gimmick was short-lived. Hawkins became Moondog Rex.

Moondog Rex Randy Colley (May 2, 1950 – December 14, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Moondog Rex. He was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as a part of The Moondogs. Colley was also ...

and

Moondog King Edward John White (May 18, 1949 – August 26, 2005) was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known as Sailor White and as Moondog King of The Moondogs (professional wrestling), The Moondogs when he joined the World Wrestling Federation in the ...

joined the

(WWF) in October 1980, where they defeated

Rick Martel Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, "The Model" Rick Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling As ...

and

Tony Garea Anthony Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Garea. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/ World Wr ...

for the

WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...

. After winning the title, Moondog King was replaced by

Moondog Spot 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. Professional wrestling career Early career (1977–1981) Booker debuted in ...

after King—a Canadian—was denied entry into the United States in 1981. Rex and Spot's

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

consisted of them carrying chewed up bones to the ring and wearing cut-off blue jeans. While in the WWF, the Moondogs feuded with

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Fede ...

Ivan Putski Józef Bednarski (born January 21, 1941) is a Polish/American former professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by the ring name Ivan Putski. He was given the nicknames the "Polish Hammer" and "Polish Power". Putski is a former WWF World ...

, Pat Patterson, and the Wild Samoans. In 1984, on an episode of

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name of a Canadian professional wrestling promotion owned by Frank Tunney and based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. Founded in 1930, Maple Leaf was a territory of the National Wrestli ...

, Moondog Rex earned a

WWF Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...

title shot against

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

. In 1987, Rex was repackaged as Smash of

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...

, along with Ax. However, fans easily recognized him and gave him chants of "Moondog," leading to him being quickly replaced by

Barry Darsow Barry Allen Darsow (born October 6, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who performed as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition. He also wrestled as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, the Blacktop Bully, Man Mountain Darsow and "Mr. ...

. Rex and Spot then teamed together until 1990 in various promotions.

Continental Wrestling Association/United States Wrestling Association and Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1983–1996)

The Moondogs had two runs in Memphis. Their first run took place in the

in 1983, where they were managed by

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling ...

and feuded with

The Fabulous Ones The Fabulous Ones were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn who was active between 1982 and 1991 with brief reunions during the 1990s. The Fabulous Ones competed primarily in North American territories such as ...

. They captured the

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...

from the Fabs on April 4, 1983, and lost it back to them on April 25, in a no-disqualification match. The feud continued throughout 1983 and ended when The Moondogs lost a leaves town match to the Fabs on January 16, 1984. In October 1987, the Moondogs wrestled for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

. Moondog Spike and Moondog Spot faced opponents such as

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavy ...

Mighty Inoue Sueo Inoue (April 12, 1949 – November 27, 2024), better known by the ring names Mighty Inoue () and All Mighty Inoue, was a Japanese professional wrestler and referee. He is best known for his appearances with International Wrestling Enterprise ...

Haruka Eigen (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began competing in sumo wrestling. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He ...

and Tiger Mask II. In late 1991, The Moondogs returned, this time managed by Richard Lee. Spot and Spike captured the USWA Tag Team Championship on November 30, 1991. In early 1992, The Moondogs gained a new ally in The Big Black Dog, whom they would later feud with. Moondog Cujo was added to the group in April 1992, teaming with both Spot and Spike separately. The New Moondogs of Spot and Cujo recaptured USWA Tag Team Championship and traded the title with

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

and

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

throughout 1992. During October 1992, The Moondogs gained another ally in Moondog Fifi, who won the

USWA Women's Championship The USWA Women's Championship was a women's professional wrestling title in the American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestli ...

from

Miss Texas The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1937 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America (but none since 1975). To become Miss Texa ...

. The feud between Jarrett/Lawler and The Moondogs was voted the 1992

PWI Feud of the Year This is a list of both active and inactive ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' awards which are voted on by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') readers every year from 1972 onwards, expanding to more categories in later years. Unlike other wrestling ...

by ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

''. Cujo left the group during September 1992. On December 28, The Moondogs lost the title to

The Harris Brothers Donald Harris and Ronald Harris (born October 23, 1960) are American twin brothers best known for their professional wrestling careers with promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the W ...

, managed by Bert Prentice and Mike Samples. The teams traded the belts back and forth until the Moondogs captured them for the last time on February 22, 1993. The feud ended in March 1993, when The Harris Brothers beat The Moondogs in a manager's hair vs hair match with Samples' hair vs Lee's hair on the line. On January 30, 1993, the Moondogs gained another ally in Moondog Splat, who replaced Spike. On March 8, 1993,

Brian Christopher Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian ...

teamed with The Big Black Dog to defeat The Moondogs for the tag team title. The Moondogs won it back the next week. Moondog Cujo and Spike replaced Spot and Splat in July 1993. August 1993 saw the Moondogs meet one of their noteworthy rivals, The Dogcatchers, which played off of the Moondogs' name. The teams feuded throughout August and September 1993. From November 1993 to March 1994, the team appeared in

Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...

, feuding again with The Harris Brothers and

The Rock 'n' Roll Express The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling (later to be known a ...

. Spike and Splat also appeared in W*ING's 1993 Most Dangerous Tag War Tournament, finishing with 0 points. 1994 saw the team change again with Spot and a new Moondog Rex taking up the Moondog name until Moondog Rover replaced Rex in 1996, before the team disbanded.

Independent circuit

In the latter part of 2003, the Moondogs (Spot and Puppy Love) began working in

Memphis Wrestling Memphis Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2003, Memphis Wrestling evolved from an earlier short-lived promotion called Memphis Championship Wrestling. The promotion became defunc ...

, with April Pennington acting as their manager. On November 29, 2003, Moondog Spot died in the ring during a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

in Memphis. Moondog Cujo appeared at the Clash of the Legends show in Memphis on April 29, 2007, where he defeated The Barbarian.

Members

Core

*Moondog King (

Edward White Edward, Ed, or Eddie White may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Edward White (composer) (1910–1994), British composer *Edward Gates White (1918–1992), American musician *Edward J. White (1903–1973), American film producer *Edward Lucas Whi ...

) - From October 1980 to July 1981 *Moondog Rex (

Randy Colley Randy Colley (May 2, 1950 – December 14, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Moondog Rex. He was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as a part of The Moondogs. Colley was al ...

) - From October 1980 to December 1986 *Moondog Spot ( Larry Booker) - From July 1981 to September 1996, June 2003 to November 2003 *Moondog Spike ( William Smithson) - October 1987 and from December 1991 to January 1993 *Moondog Cujo ( Lanny Kean) - From April 1992 to October 1993

Others

*Moondog Baron (DJ Baron) *Moondog Buddy (Sean Taylor) *Moondog Bernard (Casey Bernauer) *Moondog Davis (Chris Dillon) *Moondog Duke (Frank Cody) *Moondog Fido (Buddy Donovan) *Moondog Fifi ( Diane Von Hoffman) *Moondog Grizzly (Ted Grizzly) *Moondog Hammer (David Hammer) *Moondog Mange (Jimmy Stone) *Moondog Max (John Walton) *Moondog Mayne (

) *Moondog Molsonn (Jak Molsonn) *Moondog Moretti ( Ed Moretti) *Moondog Mort (Joel Goltry) *Moondog Nathan (Nathan Randolph) *Moondog Pongo (Charles Richards) *Moondog Puppy Love (Mike Flowers) *Moondog Ravage (Brad Worell) *Moondog Rex (Nathan Brian Randolph) *Moondog Rover (Paul J. Mcknight) *Moondog Runt (James McClain) *Moondog Spike (William Wantland) *Moondog Splash (Charles Edward Harrell) *Moondog Splat (Robert White) *Moondog Spot (Tony Nardo) *Moondog Wenzel (Bryan Wenzel) *Moondog X (Brian Jellison) *Moondog Super (Peter Beshai)

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – Rex and Spot *Dyersburg Championship Wrestling **DCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) * Jersey Championship Wrestling **

JCW Tag Team Championship The JCW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship in Juggalo Championship Wrestling. The Brothers Of Funstruction (Ruffo The Clown & Yabo The Clown). They won the titles by defeating The Backseat Boyz (Tommy Grayson ...

(1 time) - Molsonn and Wenzel * International Championship Wrestling (New England) **

IWCCW Tag Team Championship The ICW / IWCCW Tag-Team Championship was the top tag-team championship of International World Class Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1995 where IWCCW closed down operations. Since the ICW/IWCCW championships were not given "world title" ...

( 1 time) – Spike and Spot *

Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame The Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame was a professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the United States Wrestling Association. The induction ceremony for the Class of 1994, the inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, took place at the USWA' ...

**Class of 2022 - (Spot, Rex, Cujo and Spike} *Ozark Mountain Wrestling **OMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *''

'' **

(1992) vs.

and

USWA World Tag Team Championship The USWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The Continental Wrestling Association and World Class Wrestling ...

( 14 times) – Splat and Spot (4), Spike and Spot (3), Rex and Spot (3), Cujo and Spike (2), Cujo and Spot (1) and Rover and Spot (1) **

(1 time) – Fifi *

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship The WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship was a third-string tag team championship that was defended in the World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion base ...

( 1 time) – Rex and Spot **

WWC North American Tag Team Championship The WWC North American Tag Team Championship, also known as the Puerto Rican version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship, was a major tag team championship that was used and defended in Capitol Sports Promotions (CSP, later the Worl ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – Rex and Spot **

WWC World Tag Team Championship The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. History Abroad (2017) On February 11, 2017, Thunder and Lightning defended t ...

( 1 time) – Rex and Spot *

( 1 time) – Rex, King & Spot (who replaced King during title reign) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' ** Feud of the Year (1992) vs.

and

*UFO Wrestling **UFO Tag Team Champions 2008–2009 (1 time) Max and Bidondi "The Animals" *Ultimate Wrestling Dynasty **UWD Hardcore Champion 2007–2008 (2 times) Max *New World Wrestling **NWW Tag Team Champions 2005–2006 (1 time) Max and Kohuko *New Generation Wrestling **NGW Tag Team Champions 2004 (2 times) Max and Ryan Bean