As an announcer, Finkel was generally separate from the scripted angles, but occasionally became part of the company's storylines. [9] In 1993, at the "Roman"-themed WrestleMania IX, he was introduced in a toga as Finkus Maximus.

He began working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1975, and was a Madison Square Garden ring announcer since 1977. In a March 30, 2011 interview, Finkel gave Bobby Heenan credit for helping the success of Hulkamania by acting as a tremendous antagonist to Hulk Hogan.

[2] He began working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975, and was a Madison Square Garden ring announcer since 1977.

In a 2011 interview, Finkel said he had also played a part in the talent relations and creative departments during the early days of the WWF. "This is ridiculous...Where is the manager? He describes directing the first televised telethon, hosted by Jack Webb, and producing multiple broadcasts of The People's Choice Awards, Oscars, and Emmy Awards. I will miss those chats. We got to the venue and there were legends everywhere: Roddy Piper, JJ Dillon, Bruno Sammartino -- it was a stacked event, but the person I was most nervous to approach for an interview was Howard Finkel. He had a stroke a year prior and was in bad health preceding his death.

It was a token of my appreciation for the years of memories and inspiration he provided for me. but Fink couldn't be this kind of monster. Arda Ocal has also written a tribute on the late Howard Finkel that can be read at ESPN. He was WWE's chief statistician. Finkel came up with the event name "WrestleMania", as well as Ricky Steamboat's "Dragon" nickname. "About 12 minutes, Arda.".

[7] He came up with the event name "WrestleMania", as well as Ricky Steamboat's "Dragon" nickname. October 12, 2020 Monday Night RAW results, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Howard_Finkel?oldid=1673092. They say don't meet your heroes. He loved his New York Mets, which would dominate our conversations. He was wearing his trademark tuxedo, with the MSG-branded double microphone ready for fans to take pictures with. When considering the greatest ring announcers in the history of sports and sports-entertainment, you’d be hard-pressed to name one better than Howard Finkel.

Finkel is the only person to appear on-screen at every single WrestleMania event.

WWE's longest-serving employee and widely regarded as the greatest ring announcer of all time, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

In his four-hour Archive Interview, Bob Finkel (1918-2012) talks about the countless musical variety and awards shows he directed and produced. On July 23, 2012, Finkel was a special ring announcer on the 1,000th episode of Raw. Finkel became involved in a feud between X-Pac and Jeff Jarrett, when Jarrett shaved the already near-bald Finkel's head. Finkel’s distinctive voice was instantly recognizable, and for more than two decades Superstars such as The Ultimate Warrior, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and more would have a title victory marked by The Fink’s signature call, “and NNNEEEWWW World Champion!”.

As much as the world of pro wrestling can fill us with joy, most fans become so invested in it that when something bad happens it can be truly heartbreaking. On November 20, 2011, at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden, Finkel was the special ring announcer for CM Punk, in his WWE Championship match against Alberto Del Rio. Styles along with WWE Ambassador Dana Warrior were the coaches. This led to Finkel's first match on January 9, 1995; on Monday Night Raw, he won a tuxedo match over Wippleman, by stripping him to his underwear.

of ESPN about the passing of Howard Finkel earlier this week at the age of 69.

I got within eyeshot of Fink and before I could finish saying "Hello, Mr. Finkel..." He looked at me and said, "Yeah, what do you want? On April 10, 2012, Finkel appeared on the "Blast from the Past" episode of SmackDown.

The following week, Garcia defeated Finkel in an evening gown/tuxedo match with help from Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler, who were ostensibly insulted by a "dumb blonde" remark made by Finkel. Can't you see I'm busy here? This led to Howard doing events in New Haven and after some time finding his groove as a ring announcer, Finkel debuted in Madison Square Garden in January 1977, ending up with a life-long job. [15], During the final years of his life, Finkel worked in a backstage role for WWE.[16]. X-Pac won the match and Finkel assisted him in cutting Jarrett's hair. This was my moment -- I finally get to meet Fink! Well respected by current Superstars, WWE legends, alum and Hall of Famers, Finkel’s encyclopedic memory and kindness made him beloved among his colleagues.

He was one of my heroes growing up, and one of my dear friends in the wrestling industry.

How much did her testimony reveal? DiBiase eventually helped Hennig win the title by hitting Von Erich with the championship belt and afterwards taunted Von Erich over his defeat.

Finkel, just trying to pay things forward because he loved professional wrestling, ended up gifting himself with a life as part of the circus.

Arda Ocal, who currently works for ESPN, was a broadcaster for a variety of platforms in Canada before signing with WWE, where he worked from 2014-16 under the name Kyle Edwards. He began working for Vince McMahon Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975, making him the company's longest tenured employee. I grew up idolizing the announcers, the broadcasters in WWE, like "Mean" Gene Okerlund, Gorilla Monsoon and, yes, Howard Finkel. I had an opportunity to interview the great Howard Finkel after a unified basketball game, hosted by WWE and Special Olympics Florida in Kissimmee, near Orlando, during WrestleMania Week in 2017.

On June 14, 2020, at the WWE Backlash PPV, a recording of Howard Finkel introducing both Edge and Randy Orton to the 'Best Wrestling Match Ever' was played, introducing the pair of combatants.

var custom_ad=patreon_ad;var google_ad='';var rotatingAd=document.getElementById("rotating_ad");var x=Math.floor(Math.random()*10);if(x%3===0){rotatingAd.innerHTML=custom_ad;rotatingAd.parentElement.style.height="272px"}else{rotatingAd.innerHTML=google_ad;(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});rotatingAd.parentElement.style.height="250px"}, POST NEWS UPDATE: Collision in Korea confirmed to be a topic on season 3 of Dark Side of the Ring, AEW stays even in demo, falls in viewers against World Series, cable news, Giant Baba memorial show announced for February 4th, 2021, WWE NXT notes: ‘Haunted House of Terror’ match set for Halloween Havoc, Theory says he quits, AEW Dynamite notes: Eliminator tournament updates, TNT Title Lumberjack match on 10/28. Jericho convinced Finkel to distract Shamrock during his match. John Pollock chats with Arda Ocal of ESPN about the passing of Howard Finkel earlier this week at the age of 69. [11] Four days later on Monday Night Raw, Hughes bet and lost Finkel in a game of poker, to The Acolytes. I wouldn't say hello, I'd just walk into the office with a, "Hey Fink, how long did Dean Douglas hold the Intercontinental title for in 1995?"

When Vince McMahon Jr. took control of the company from his ailing father in 1982, Finkel remained working for the company as its ring announcer.

In 1992, he was attacked by Kamala. A native of Newark, New Jersey, “The Fink” — a label that had been attached affectionately to Howard over the years — made his ring announcing debut at Madison Square Garden in 1977 for WWE’s predecessor, WWWF, under the direction of Vince McMahon Sr. By 1979, Finkel was the full-time ring announcer for WWWF, and when WWE was established in 1980 as WWF, The Fink became the first — and eventually longest-serving — employee. Widely regarded as one of the best ring announcers of all time, Finkel was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

By 2006, Finkel was rarely heard from even at pay-per-view wrestling events. He shares his memory of meeting Howard Finkel and the friendship they ultimately shared. I know more about the Mets than I ever thought I would simply because of Howard Finkel regaling me with stories of his trips to Shea Stadium, where he watched Tom Seaver and Darryl Strawberry play.

By 1979, he was the World Wide Wrestling Federation's lead ring announcer for its biggest events. On July 23, 2012, Finkel was a special ring announcer on the 1,000th episode of Raw. [18], Learn how and when to remove this template message, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, "Jewish WWE announcer Howard Finkel dies at age 69", "Howard's Obsessed with wrestling profile and El Dopo", "WWE News: Terrible health update on WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel", "WWE Employees Fans May Have Forgotten Still Work for Vince", "Howard Finkel Passes Away At 69-Years-Old", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6o5o3-COV8, "Wrestling Observer anuncia los nominados para el Hall of Fame 2018", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Howard_Finkel&oldid=983004475, Articles lacking reliable references from April 2020, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from November 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 October 2020, at 17:45. By 2006, Finkel was rarely heard from even at pay-per-views. The Fink was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Mean Gene Okerlund on April 4, 2009. Growing up, "The Fink" was one of my heroes. I stood there completely frozen, unsure how to even process what had happened. He also writes MMA -- mostly profile stories and video interviews with American Top Team talent in South Florida.

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As Finkel started to announce, Chimel threw Finkel from the ring.

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[17] On the podcast Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Prichard mentioned that Finkel had been a resident of an assisted living facility for some time prior to his death. By 2000, Howard Finkel had taken a lighter schedule with the additions of Lilian Garcia and Tony Chimel to Raw and SmackDown, respectively, but he still announced for some of the WWF/E's pay-per-view events.

In 1993, at the "Roman"-themed WrestleMania IX, Howard Finkel was introduced as Finkus Maximus. In August 1999, Finkel became a lackey of the recently debuted Chris Jericho.

He returned to full-time ring announcing at Royal Rumble 1996. He appeared on an episode of NXT, in an "Outthink The Fink" challenge. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. On July 23, 2012, Finkel was a special ring announcer on the 1,000th episode of Raw.