Moondog Spike passes away

Bill Smithson aka Moondog Spike passed away today after being removed off of life support due to kidney problems.

Moondog Spike was a member of The Moondogs, who are one of my favorite tag teams of all time. They pretty much kept the USWA afloat in 1992 and 1993 and were arguably the top act at some points in time. The Moondogs had the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 1992 Feud of the Year against Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett. I haven't seen a ton of it, but it had a lot of brawling, which was the Moondogs specialty.

I don't have a ton of memories in particular of Moondog Spike. Moondog Spike was around during 1993 and during that time, the Moondogs had many different members. At different times there was Moondog Spot, Moondog Spike, Moondog Splat, Moondog Cujo and The Big Black Dog, who was absolutely awful. It was rather hard to keep track of who was who and to be honest, it didn't really matter since they all worked so similarly and they all had similar looks of blonde hair, torn jeans and big stomachs.

The Moondogs were pretty awesome in 1993 though. Even though 1992 was their award winning year, 1993 was great as well. They had some good stuff with USWA faces like Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett but their prime really came when they turned face. They were super over in no time. They got the crowd to join them in barking at their foes and anytime they appeared, I knew someone was in for a whooping. Chairs were a commonly used weapon on the Moondogs along with trash cans and whatever else wasn't nailed down. They were led by Richard Lee, who is maybe the most underrated managers ever and pretty much served as utilitymen for the USWA. They fought The Harris Twins and got some decent stuff out of them and they also had a memorable feud with The Dog Catchers. I always thought The Dog Catchers were one of the most creative gimmicks and I did like their small feud. They also briefly had a small feud with the Harlem Knights. The Knights wouldn't stay too long and would go to become Men on a Mission in the WWF.

Best wishes to Bill Smithson's family through this hard time and rest in peace, Bill Smithson. I'm sure you and Moondog Spot are creating havoc once again up in the sky!