While Moon Dog Spot may have received all the glory of being a wrestling superstar I feel that it’s time for Larry Booker to receive the credit he deserves for being the true wrestling legend that he is.  Now myself having had the honor and privilege of being around Dog week after week, show after show, month after month and yes year after year, I can honestly say that Moon Dog Spot was just the icing on the cake and that the man behind the character was the true evil genius.  Larry Booker or as I said I just call him Dog was by far one of the smartest people in the wrestling industry this man had an endless supply of angles, gimmicks and storylines he really understood wrestling as a business and as entertainment I believe as good as anybody in the entire wrestling world and a hell of a lot better than most.  He was always able to keep things interesting for not only the fans but for the boys as well.  He ate, slept, breathed and most definitely bled wrestling he honestly lived wrestling and I know for a fact that he loved every single second of it.

     Now don’t get me wrong Dog was no saint by any means he understood the inner workings, politics, and the cutthroat nature of professional wrestling and that to succeed in wresting as a business sometimes you have to quite frankly look out for number one to succeed.  And succeed he did.  Myself personally I owe a lot to Dog.  When I first met Dog I was already beginning to get the reputation of being stiff and was really starting to be disgusted with the wrestling business and all of the politics as a whole.  That’s about the time Dog started trying to get wrestling going in Osceola Arkansas.  I may be wrong but I think myself and “Sexy Sam Dollar (at that time he was just plain Mr. Sexy) were the first two people on the Moon Dog Championship Wrestling roster and to tell the truth at that time it was just Championship Wrestling, this was before Dog and Big Daddy Lafonce became partners, the show’s were being held at the VFW building in Osceola.

     Like I said I owe a lot to Dog we did not always see eye to eye or agree on everything, but that does not change the fact that Dog provided me with a place to work each and every week and he did not mind that I worked stiff and had the reputation that came along with it.  Truth be known I believe that he actually loved that about me because he made sure that no matter how much whining and complaining some of the boys may have been doing that I always had a match regardless of what anybody else thought and by him giving me that opportunity I was able to ply my trade and perfect my craft which was exactly what I needed more that anything.  He allowed me to evolve as a wrestler and a performer because he always made sure that we were doing things that not only helped our in ring skills but he also made sure we were doing things to help develop our characters and our acting ability as well.  At times I didn’t really understand why Dog would do some of the things he would do not only in his time in the ring but even some of the things he would do behind the scenes as far as locker room politics and all the bullshit that comes along with it. 

     Which at times led to Dog and I butting heads and yes I have had some bad times with Dog, but I have also had plenty of good times with Dog, from working against him to working along side him and having the privilege of just being around him as the person he really was Larry (Moon Dog Spot) Booker, because you have to understand Moon Dog Spot was just as much a part of Larry Booker the person as Larry Booker the wrestling legend was a part of Moon Dog Spot the character and wrestling superstar.  So for all the things I was either to green at times or two hard headed at times to understand then, I am beginning to understand now.

      Dog had a wealth of knowledge and experience about the wrestling business not only as a performer but also a promoter he knew what it took to make the fans come to the shows and to make the show as entertaining as he possibly could, so that the fans would come back week after week and yes year after year.  He also understood that for a wrestling company to be a success that you need to have good talent and that you have to create a friendship and an overall sense of comradery amongst your talent to have a truly successful wrestling show.  If your roster of talent genuinely like each other and enjoy working together they will go out there time after time and give the fans the very best performance that they possibly can.  It boils down to this if you give your talent a show that they can believe in then the fans will believe in it to and Dog understood that better than anybody and proved that fact by the success of Moon Dog Championship Wrestling. 

     A company that still exist to this day.  It has now been renamed Mid Southern Championship Wrestling but every single person involved with the company right now or that has ever been involved in the company from its start need to stand up take notice and realize that without the talent, experience, and knowledge of Larry Booker the legend that there definitely would not be a Mid Southern Championship Wrestling today.  I know that without having the privilege of getting to spend so much time around Dog just watching, listening, learning, and absorbing how he was able to handle every person, problem, and situation put before him differently, and he was able to figure out a way to make it come together and be a success every time that there probably would be no Buster “HELLRAISER” Johnson or “Sexy” Sam Dollar either.

     So with that said every single person that ever had the opportunity to spend any length of time with Dog should be honored to have not only got to be around Dog as a person but especially if you had the privilege of being one of his peers.  And honored I truly am. 

     Now I did not attend Dogs funeral because I am not a funeral person I would prefer to remember Dog standing in the middle of the ring blood streaming down his face, barking and chewing on that big Moon Dog bone because that was truly where he was the happiest and most comfortable.  I was not at the Coliseum the night Dog passed away but I can honestly say that when it was Dogs time to go there was no place better fitting than the Mid South Coliseum in the middle of the ring, “In the house he helped build.” 

     The last time I saw Dog was at a television taping for Galaxy Championship Wrestling in 2002 and I actually got to work with Dog for what turned out to be the last time I would ever see Dog and yes we had one hell of a match and one hell of a good time in and outside the ring and yes it was my privilege to put Dog over in the last match and the last time I would ever have the honor of being in his presence and that’s something that I will never forget. 

     As I am sitting here writing this I can see Dog in heaven standing on the biggest cloud, looking down on those he left behind barking and chewing on his bone with that wild hair and a giant smile.  For those who knew that giant smile, knew that would be him telling us that he is at peace and happy with his life and the legacy he left behind, because as long as professional wrestling exist he will forever be one of it’s greatest superstars and one of it’s biggest legends, and for those that he touched on a personal level his legend will forever be in our hearts.

Larry (Moon Dog Spot) Booker you may be gone but you will never be forgotten.  And here’s me looking up at you standing on your giant cloud in heaven saying, “Much respect and I thank you for everything good, bad and otherwise.”

That’s the truth,

the whole truth,

 and nothing but the truth,

As I see it…

Buster “HELLRAISER” Johnson