The Effect of Gravity on the Moon

The moon is slightly distorted by the gravity of the earth. That has a big impact on how it spins because now it has a gravitational preference to be aligned a certain way with the earth. If it was a perfect sphere, then the gravity on the object wouldn't change as it spins. But if it has a bulge, then gravity prefers that bulge to be aligned with the object. And so that's how gravity makes the moon a little bit pointy and also slows down its spin. It's like stealing some of its energy a little bit to slow down its Spin.