.jpg) | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Larry Wayne Booker (1952-06-06)June 6, 1952[1] Louisiana, U.S.[better source needed] |
| Died | November 29, 2003(2003-11-29) (aged 51)[1] Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Larry Latham[1] Moondog Spot[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 375 lb (170 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | "Parts unknown" |
| Trained by | Herb Welch |
| Debut | 1977 |
Larry Wayne Booker (June 6, 1952 – November 29, 2003), better known by hisring namesMoondog Spot andLarry Latham, was an Americanprofessional wrestler.[1]
Booker debuted in 1977 under the ring name Larry Latham. Latham formed a tag team withCarl Fergie called "The Ragin' Cajuns" managed by Billy Spears in the Gulf Coast territory.[1] Early in his career, he wrestled in Memphis and Mid-South, and his first big push came as a member of theBlond Bombers withWayne Farris (The Honky Tonk Man).[2] The Blond Bombers were involved in heated feuds with several babyfaces across the two competing Tennessee promotions, appearing in bothNick Gulas' Nashville based territory, andJerry Jarrett's Memphis area. The team was managed byDanny Davis.[1] Their signature moment was the "Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl" againstJerry Lawler andBill 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 byExtreme Championship Wrestling in the mid-1990s.[2]
Years later, Booker resurfaced as "Moondog Spot", a member ofThe Moondogs, whose name was suggested byVincent J. McMahon.[5] Booker became aWWWF World Tag Team Champion as a replacement forMoondog King in May 1981.[6][7] Booker held the title along withMoondog Rex until they were defeated byRick Martel andTony Garea on July 21, 1981.[6][7] The Moondogs also frequently appeared in Memphis where they feuded withThe Fabulous Ones,The Rock 'n' Roll Express, andMidnight 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.[5] In 1984, Booker and Rex returned to the WWF withJimmy Hart as their manager.[3] The next year, they split up and Rex became the original Smash inDemolition before being replaced byBarry Darsow.[3] On November 7, 1985, he wrestled in the tournament on theWWF pay-per-view eventWrestling Classic, defeatingTerry Funk in the first round by count out, but losing toJunkyard Dog in the quarterfinals.[7][8] After the tournament, Spot was relegated tojobber status until leaving the company in 1987.[1]
After leaving the WWF, he went toAll Japan Pro Wrestling where he teamed withMoondog Spike for a few months in late 1987. Spot kept upThe Moondogs gimmick.[1] For most of his career, he stayed in Memphis working for theUnited 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 inSmoky Mountain Wrestling from 1993 to 1994.[1] He would stick around Tennessee for theindependent circuit mainly working forPower Pro Wrestling.[1] Latham later operated a wrestling school inOsceola, Arkansas.[2] During his few appearances in the independent circuit, he would usually team up with Moondog Puppy Love, working inMemphis Wrestling,[3] with April Pennington acting as their manager.[6] In March 2003, he made an appearance as Moondog Spot inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he teamed withJim Duggan to defeatMike Sanders andDisco Inferno.[1]
On November 29, 2003, Booker suffered aheart attack in the ring duringJerry Lawler's "birthday bash" show inMemphis, 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 fromdiabetes and other medical ailments.[2] Following the show, the crowd was informed of his death, aten-bell salute was performed, andBrian 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 inFriendship, Tennessee; Lawler attended his funeral.[3]
,Internet Wrestling Database