 Moondog Rex,c. 1983 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Randy Adrian Colley[6] (1950-05-02)May 2, 1950[6] Alexander City, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 2019(2019-12-14) (aged 69) Alexander City, Alabama, U.S.[6] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names | |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 288 lb (131 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | "Parts unknown"[5] |
| Trained by | Al Velasco[3] |
| Debut | September 21, 1970[1] |
| Retired | 1997[1] |
Randy Adrian Colley (May 2, 1950 – December 14, 2019) was an Americanprofessional wrestler, better known by thering nameMoondog Rex. He was best known for his appearances in theWorld Wrestling Federation as a part ofThe Moondogs. Colley was also one of the original members of thetag teamDemolition, performing under the ring nameSmash.
Colley began his career in the 1970s as Jack Dalton in atag team with Jim Dalton, collectively known as the Dalton Brothers.[3] The two would compete in theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in their Florida, Gulf Coast and Georgia territories.[7] In 1976, he joined Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) under his real name, facing opponents such asSteve Strong,Two Ton Harris, andLarry Sharpe.
Colley joined theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1980, debuting under the name "Ripper Hawkins".[4] Shortly after, he was repackaged as "Moondog Hawkins", and later "Moondog Rex" as promoterVince McMahon Sr. noted Colley's resemblance toMoondog Mayne.[2] He was paired withMoondog King as "The Moondogs", winning theWWF Tag Team Championship fromRick Martel andTony Garea in March 1981, which they held for four months;Moondog Spot eventually replaced King as Rex's partner during their reign due to King being denied entry to the United States at theCanada–United States border.[5][2] The WWF claimed that in storyline, King was injured after being hit by a car.[8]
He next appeared inGeorgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) with Spot. The Moondogs made their debut on October 25, 1982, in a match at the Omni againstBrad Armstrong andTito Santana. The Moondogs would continue with the promotion for the next three months, wrestlingThe Wild Samoans and various combinations that includedStan Hansen.
Both Moondogs then moved to the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), where they were embroiled in afeud withThe Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane andSteve Keirn) after ripping up their jackets, which were given to them byJackie Fargo.[2] On April 4, 1983, in theMid-South Coliseum, the Moondogs defeated the Fabulous Ones to win the Southern Tag Team Championship, before losing them in a rematch three weeks later.[9] Their feud pioneeredhardcore wrestling and intensified when Fargo took Keirn's place after the Moondogs injured him.[8][5]
The Moondogs returned to the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, during the midst of its national expansion.[2] In June, Colley facedHulk Hogan twice for theWWF World Championship, but failed to win the title.[10] For the next few months, they were programmed into ahouse show series against the newly-arrivedFabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes,Terry Gordy andBuddy Roberts) and later the Brisco Brothers (Jerry andJack).[10] The Moondogs entered 1985 on the lower end of the tag team ranks, and were split apart as singles wrestlers to help flesh out house show cards. Colley lost to established names likeBret Hart,Barry Windham,Jimmy Snuka andTony Atlas, but was able to defeatpreliminary talent such asRick McGraw.[11]
Following his WWF departure, Colley made his debut forBill Watts'Mid South Wrestling Federation (UWF) as The Nightmare and was given a substantialpush under the guidance ofEddie Gilbert.[7] On May 22, 1985, he defeatedTerry Taylor to capture theMid-South North American Championship.[12] After rebranding as The Champion, he lost the title toDick Murdoch on August 10.[12] Colley also held theMid-South Tag Team Championship with Gilbert for a month in November.[13]
Colley made his return to the WWF in February 1986 and also toured withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in April.[14][15] Again paired with Spot, they suffered losses to established teams includingThe Rougeau Brothers (Jacques andRaymond) onPrime Time Wrestling, Tony Atlas andPedro Morales, theU.S. Express (Barry Windham andMike Rotunda) and WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan andPaul Orndorff onWWF Championship Wrestling.[14]
On January 4, 1987, Colley was repackaged as "Smash" in the new tag team ofDemolition, facing and defeatingthe Islanders. The following day, he made his televised debut at aWWF Superstars taping.[16] Despite having his hair trimmed, his beard shaved off, and wearing face paint, fans almost immediately recognized him and began chanting "Moondog" when he entered the ring. As a result, he was replaced withBarry Darsow.[3][2][5]
From April until his departure by the end of October 1987, Colley was repackaged again as part of the masked wrestling team The Shadows withJose Luis Rivera, but they were primarily used as enhancement talent.[17] Colley made a one-off return on November 26, 1988, wrestling as "The Shadow" in a loss toBoris Zukhov.[18]
In 1994, Colley was called as a prosecution witness at theVince McMahon steroid distribution trial inLong Island, New York.[19]
After a stint withStampede Wrestling under his real name,[7] Colley worked forContinental Championship Wrestling (CCW) alongside Eddie Gilbert as "Detroit Demolition".[3] Managed byDowntown Bruno, he teamed withLord Humungous until Humungous turnedface and allied with (kayfabe) childhood friendShane Douglas against Bruno and his men.
In the summer of 1990, Colley began working forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Moondog Rex in singles competition.[7] Colley's highest profile match was a loss toJunkyard Dog on October 27 atHalloween Havoc.[20] He continued to appear on televised programs and house shows into the spring of 1991.[21] In May,World Championship Wrestling (WCW) created astable known as "the Desperados", consisting ofDutch Mantell,Black Bart and Colley, who played "Deadeye Dick". The Desperados were portrayed as three bumbling cowboys hoping for Stan Hansen to join WCW and team with them, being promoted through a series of vignettes in which they were beaten up in saloons, searchedghost towns, were jailed and rode horses. However, thisstoryline was short-lived as Hansen wanted no part of it and left forJapan.[5][7]
After leaving WCW, Colley would take a hiatus form wrestling for a couple of years. He briefly reunited withDemolition Ax (Bill Eadie) and his "New Demolition" partner Blast (Carmine Azzato) on the independent circuit before the WWF sent Eadie a cease and desist letter.
From November 1993 to March 1994, Colley reunited with Spot as the Moondogs inSmoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), engaging in feuds withThe Rock 'n' Roll Express andThe Bruise Brothers while splitting their time between SMW and theUnited States Wrestling Association (USWA).[22][23]
The Moondogs joined the USWA full time in March 1994 and began a feud withJerry Lawler andBrian Christopher, quickly winning theUSWA World Tag Team Championship fromBilly Joe Travis andThe Spellbinder. They would lose the titles later that year, but regained them on October 24 against The Phantoms. In November they lost and then regained the titles from The Bruise Brothers.
The Moondogs entered 1995 having lost the USWA titles once more and entered a tournament to crown new champions; they wrestled The Rock 'n' Roll Express to a no-contest in the finals at the Mid South Coliseum on January 9, 1995. That spring they would feud withCrusher Bones, Jack Hammer, and Big Daddy Cyrus. Their run in the company ended that year with a match at the USWA's Mid South Memphis Memories II card, where they were defeated by The Fabulous Ones.
In 1996 the duo returned once more, defeating Jimmy Harris andRon Harris at the Mid South Coliseum on January 2. In April 1996 they began to feud with former WWF Tag Team ChampionsMen on a Mission, the latter on loan from the WWF. On April 22, 1996, the Moondogs defeated Men on a Mission via pinfall at the Mid South Coliseum. In June the Moondogs were booked into a tournament to crown the USWA's Southern Tag Team Champions, but were defeated byBrickhouse Brown andReggie B. Fine in the first round. In the summer, the Moondogs regained the USWA Tag Team Championship for a final time. The Moondogs left USWA that fall, a year before the promotion closed its doors.
Colley retired from wrestling in 1997 to operate a bail-bond company with fellow wrestlerDavid Schultz.[6] He later worked as an electrician, remodelled houses and became an ordained minister.[6][3][5] He also owned several gyms in his hometown of Alexander City.[6]Jerry Lawler asked Colley to appear at his "birthday bash" show in Memphis on November 29, 2003, but he did not appear due to undergoing heart surgery; at the same show, his former partner Moondog Spot died of aheart attack.[3]
On December 14, 2019, Colley died at the age of 69, a week after undergoing amputation of his right leg above the knee.[3]
Ripper Hawkins (Moondog Rex) (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) pinned Steve King at 4:32 with a shoulderbreaker (Hawkins' debut)
Boris Zhukov defeated the Shadow
After opening statements, the prosecution called two wrestlers who had had brief careers in the World Wrestling Federation: Randy (Moondog Rex) Colley and Thomas Zenk.
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