Howard Finkel (June 7, 1950 – April 16, 2020) was an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...

, best known for his appearances in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. He began working for

Vincent J. McMahon Vincent James McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984), sometimes referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which was later renamed WWWF (World ...

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

(WWWF) in 1975, and was a

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

ring announcer since 1977. Finkel was WWE's longest-serving employee (40 years) and was widely regarded as the greatest ring announcer of all time. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

Early life and career

Finkel was born on June 7, 1950, in the city of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Finkel, debuted as a ring announcer at

on January 17, 1977. By 1979, he was the

's lead ring announcer for its biggest events. He became the first

employee on April 1, 1980, and later its longest-serving. Throughout his career, his distinctive voice was sometimes used in the

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...

for the company's various television programs. His signature call was his announcement of a new champion following a title change, in which he would place extra emphasis on the word "new" in order to draw the greatest reaction from the crowd. He came up with the event name "

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

", as well as

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

's "Dragon" nickname. In 1984, he became WWF's lead ring announcer for television tapings, replacing

Joe McHugh Joe McHugh (born 16 July 1971) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs since September 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since 2016, and previously ...

. During a 2011 interview, he said he and his knowledge of history had also played a part in the talent relations and creative departments during the early days of the WWF. On January 19, 1987, Finkel was presented a plaque by

Gene Okerlund Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019), better known by his ring name "Mean Gene" Okerlund, was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wres ...

, commemorating ten years of announcing at Madison Square Garden. In 1993, at the "Roman"-themed

WrestleMania IX WrestleMania IX was the ninth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on April 4, 1993, at Caesars Palace in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradi ...

, he was introduced in a

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

as Finkus Maximus. In 1995, Finkel took a seven-month hiatus from ring announcing on pay-per-views and television broadcasts (but not at house shows) and was replaced by Manny Garcia. He returned to full-time ring announcing at

Royal Rumble 1996 The 1996 Royal Rumble was the ninth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on January 21, 1996, at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. A ...

Storylines

As an announcer, Finkel was generally separate from the scripted

angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...

, but occasionally he became part of the company's storylines. In November 1990, Finkel played a tangential role in

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He performed under his real name for promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE) ...

defeating

Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with ...

to win the

WWF Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roste ...

after he accepted a bribe from

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...

(whom Von Erich had recently attacked on ''The Brother Love Show'') to let him take over as guest ring announcer for the match. DiBiase eventually helped Hennig win the title by hitting Von Erich with the championship belt and afterwards taunted Von Erich over his defeat. 1992 saw the beginning of a feud with manager Dr. Harvey Wippleman, who regularly complained about Finkel's announcing. In 1992, Finkel was attacked by Wippleman's wrestler Adam Bomb. At

WrestleMania X WrestleMania X was the 10th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The central ...

, Wippleman berated Finkel and tore off part of the announcer's tuxedo, who finally retaliated by pushing the manager to the ground. This led to Finkel's first match on January 9, 1995; on ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

'', he won a tuxedo match over Wippleman, by stripping him to his underwear. Finkel became involved in a feud between

X-Pac Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...

and

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father J ...

, when Jarrett shaved the already near-bald Finkel's head. This feud culminated in a Hair versus Hair Match at SummerSlam 1998, with Finkel in the corner of X-Pac. X-Pac won the match and Finkel assisted him in cutting Jarrett's hair. In August 1999, Finkel became a lackey of the recently debuted

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

. On August 26, during the network debut episode of ''

WWF SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

,'' Jericho encouraged Finkel to attack SmackDown announcer

Tony Chimel Tony Chimel is an American former professional wrestling ring announcer best known for his time with WWE. Announcing career World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE Before Chimel become a ring announcer, he and Joey Marella were the main ...

and take back his place as lead announcer. Finkel ran down the aisle, shoving Chimel and ordering him to step aside. As Finkel started to announce, Chimel threw Finkel from the ring. While Jericho helped Finkel to the back, they crossed paths with

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

, who jostled with Jericho. Jericho convinced Finkel to distract Shamrock during his match. After Finkel berated Shamrock, Shamrock began twisting Finkel's finger, permitting Jericho to hit Shamrock from behind with a steel chair. Several weeks later, Finkel adopted the role of El Dopo, a masked referee who unfairly officiated a Shamrock match, awarding the win to

Curtis Hughes Curtis Hughes (born December 7, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. He also worked for the America ...

. On the October 14 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Jericho defeated Hughes with help from Finkel, but

gave GAVE may refer to: * Gave (Melgaço), a parish in Portugal * Gave (placename element), a French word meaning ''torrential river'' in the west Pyrenees * Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), a medical condition * Gabinete de Avaliação Educacio ...

Finkel to Curtis Hughes after the match. Four days later on ''

'', Hughes bet and lost Finkel in a game of poker, to

The Acolytes The Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) was an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of Bradshaw (John Layfield) and Faarooq (Ron Simmons). They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) b ...

. Finkel turned heel on an August 2002 episode of ''Raw'' and began a brief feud with ''Raw'' ring announcer

Lilian Garcia Lilián Annette Garcia (born August 19, 1966) is a Spanish-American ring announcer, singer and podcaster best known for her time with WWE. She is currently announcing for the Professional Fighters League (PFL).Doyle, Dave"Former WWE ring announce ...

over the lead spot, before both were attacked by

3-Minute Warning 3-Minute Warning was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Matt Anoa'i and Eddie Fatu, most notable for their time with WWF/E under their ring names of Rosey and Jamal, respectively. As they were the members of the ...

. The following week, Garcia defeated Finkel in an evening gown/tuxedo match with help from

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...

and

Stacy Keibler Stacy Ann-Marie Keibler (born October 14, 1979) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actress, former Cheerleading, cheerleader, dancer, and Model (person), model. She is specifically known for her work with Wor ...

, who were insulted by a remark made by Finkel.

2000–2020

2014-04-03 18-42-20 NEX-6 DSC05757 (46155456174)

By 2000, Howard Finkel had taken a lighter schedule with the additions of

and

to Raw and SmackDown, respectively, but he still announced for some of the WWF/E's pay-per-view events. By 2006, Finkel was rarely heard from even at pay-per-view wrestling events. However, he regularly announced at house shows and introduced the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...

inductees at WrestleMania. Finkel himself was inducted on April 4, 2009, by

. Because Finkel was one of that year's inductees, SmackDown announcer

Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts (born December 29, 1979) is an American professional ring announcer currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Roberts regularly announced for its pay-per- ...

replaced him in introducing the group at

WrestleMania XXV WrestleMania 25 (also marketed as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and written as WrestleMania 25th Anniversary) was the 25th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ...

. Finkel's television appearances were sporadic, at major pay-per-views and occasional episodes of Raw and SmackDown. Finkel appeared at every

from 1985 to 2016. Howard Finkel 2009

Finkel did the voiceover in the intro for the WWE.com video show, '' The Dirt Sheet'', and also conducted interviews for various WWE.com programs. He was WWE's chief

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

. On September 7, 2009, he announced in special guest host Bob Barker's ''

The Price is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

''-inspired segments. He was in the background of the '' Decade of SmackDown'' celebrations on the October 2 episode. Finkel returned to ring announcing (for one night only) on the November 15, 2010, "Old School" episode of Raw. He appeared on an episode of

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

, in an "Outthink the Fink" challenge. In an interview on March 28, 2011, Finkel stated his favorite (and career-defining) accomplishment was announcing at

WrestleMania III WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event was held on March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. ...

, in front of over 93,000 fans. On November 20, 2011, at

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

in Madison Square Garden, Finkel was the special ring announcer for

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...

, in his

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...

match against

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

. On April 10, 2012, Finkel appeared on the "Blast from the Past" episode of SmackDown. On July 23, 2012, Finkel was a special ring announcer on the 1,000th episode of Raw. In 2014, Finkel was a cast member on the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...

original reality show, Legends' House. He also served as the off-screen announcer for the network's comedy series,

The Edge and Christian Show Edge & Christian (E&C) were a Canadian professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where they won the WWF Tag Team Championship on ...

. Finkel regularly appeared in the WWE

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

''The JBL and Cole Show'', until the show's cancellation in June 2015. His role in announcing the

inductees at WrestleMania passed to other ring announcers in the WWE beginning in 2017. On January 22, 2018, at the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw, Finkel was the announcer to introduce

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...

, although it was a recording due to him being unable to attend the event. During the final years of his life, Finkel worked in a backstage role for WWE. On June 14, 2020, at the

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

PPV, a recording of Howard Finkel introducing both

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

and

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

to the 'Greatest Wrestling Match Ever' was played, introducing the pair of combatants.

Death

Finkel died on April 16, 2020, at the age of 69. He had been unwell since a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in February 2019. On the podcast ''

Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard ''Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard'' is an audio podcast that discusses topics, events, wrestlers and memorable moments through the lens of WWE executive Bruce Prichard. The show was launched in August 2016 on MLW Radio. The episodes' l ...

'', Prichard mentioned that Finkel had been a resident of an

assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is s ...

facility for some time prior to his death.

On-air jobs

*''

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars ''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by ...

'' ring announcer *''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

'' ring announcer *''Byte This'' host *''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' ring announcer (January 1993–1997) *''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'' ring announcer *

ring announcer *Madison Square Garden

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

announcer (

) *

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

(FCW) ring announcer *

In Your House In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events or ...

ring announcer (1995–1999)

Awards and accomplishments

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

( Class of 2009) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...

(Class of 2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finkel, Howard 1950 births 2020 deaths American Jews People from Newark, New Jersey Professional wrestling announcers WWE Hall of Fame inductees