Though I was making the most of my birthday today, finding some fun amid the Coronavirus pandemic, some unfortunate news sprang up. WWE Hall of Famer Howard "The Fink" Finkel has died. He was 69 years old.
Finkel is, without question, the greatest pro wrestling ring announcer of all time. He first started in the business when he was hired by Vince McMahon Sr. for his promotion, the WWWF. He debuted in 1977 and by 1979 became the lead ring announcer. He was often synonymous with Madison Square Garden, the WWWF and later WWF and WWE's home arena, and the promotion's major annual event WrestleMania, for which he is credited as the creator of the name.
He was widely known for his dramatic introductions for the combatants and his signature take on delivering the results of championship matches. When a major title was retained or changed, he would say "The winner of this bout...", take a brief pause to draw in the crowd, and say "...And STILL!" or more memorably, "...And NEW!" respectively.
Even though he was a ring announcer, Finkel took part in several storylines in the WWF. In the mid-90s, he had a long feud with wrestling manager Harvey Whippleman. He would constantly introduce Whippleman and his "profession" as a doctor in a very condescending manner much to the chagrin of the bark-but-no-bite loser. It eventually lead to fisticuffs, first when "The Fink" humiliated Whippleman by pushing him down at WrestleMania X and concluding with a tuxedo match on an episode of Monday Night Raw, which Finkel would win with some help from the Bushwhackers. The gimmick match was later jokingly nominated for Match of the Year at the WWF 1996 Slammys.
He had an one-night feud with Jeff Jarrett at Summerslam 1998. Jarrett, who was about to compete in a hair vs. hair match against X-Pac, attacked and humiliated the balding Finkel by shaving off the rest of his hair. Finkel would return to the ring with X-Pac and got to give two special words to the hot MSG crowd. When Jarrett lost the match, Finkel helped shave off his long blond hair.
In 1999, he briefly became the lackey of the recently debuted Chris Jericho. The most memorable moment of this storyline was when the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla goaded Finkel into attacking fellow ring announcer Tony Chimel on the pilot episode of WWF Smackdown.
By 2000, Finkel began taking a lighter schedule as a ring announcer, often only showing up during major PPVs. The biggest highlights of this period was his introduction of Taz at WWF Royal Rumble 2000, which later became an internet meme, and his work at WrestleMania X-Seven, particularly his surprise announcement that the main event will now have "NOOOO Disqualifications!"
In 2009, he was wisely inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by another legendary WWE personality Mean Gene Okerlund. He then proceeded to pop up on various WWE programming and was later a cast member of WWE's first original reality show Legends' House. His last shining moment as a ring announcer was at Survivor Series 2011, where he was personally selected by CM Punk to be his personal ring announcer for his WWE Championship match. The show just so happened to take place in MSG and the crowd proceeded to warmly receive Finkel and chant his name, causing him to tear up on camera. This moment however is sadly tainted due to the mean interjections of the commentators, particularly Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield.
Howard Finkel is an absolute icon. His brilliant announcing made everybody from the lowly jobber to the superstars of the WWE look like a million bucks.
He will sorely be missed.
Finkel is, without question, the greatest pro wrestling ring announcer of all time. He first started in the business when he was hired by Vince McMahon Sr. for his promotion, the WWWF. He debuted in 1977 and by 1979 became the lead ring announcer. He was often synonymous with Madison Square Garden, the WWWF and later WWF and WWE's home arena, and the promotion's major annual event WrestleMania, for which he is credited as the creator of the name.
He was widely known for his dramatic introductions for the combatants and his signature take on delivering the results of championship matches. When a major title was retained or changed, he would say "The winner of this bout...", take a brief pause to draw in the crowd, and say "...And STILL!" or more memorably, "...And NEW!" respectively.
Even though he was a ring announcer, Finkel took part in several storylines in the WWF. In the mid-90s, he had a long feud with wrestling manager Harvey Whippleman. He would constantly introduce Whippleman and his "profession" as a doctor in a very condescending manner much to the chagrin of the bark-but-no-bite loser. It eventually lead to fisticuffs, first when "The Fink" humiliated Whippleman by pushing him down at WrestleMania X and concluding with a tuxedo match on an episode of Monday Night Raw, which Finkel would win with some help from the Bushwhackers. The gimmick match was later jokingly nominated for Match of the Year at the WWF 1996 Slammys.
He had an one-night feud with Jeff Jarrett at Summerslam 1998. Jarrett, who was about to compete in a hair vs. hair match against X-Pac, attacked and humiliated the balding Finkel by shaving off the rest of his hair. Finkel would return to the ring with X-Pac and got to give two special words to the hot MSG crowd. When Jarrett lost the match, Finkel helped shave off his long blond hair.
In 1999, he briefly became the lackey of the recently debuted Chris Jericho. The most memorable moment of this storyline was when the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla goaded Finkel into attacking fellow ring announcer Tony Chimel on the pilot episode of WWF Smackdown.
By 2000, Finkel began taking a lighter schedule as a ring announcer, often only showing up during major PPVs. The biggest highlights of this period was his introduction of Taz at WWF Royal Rumble 2000, which later became an internet meme, and his work at WrestleMania X-Seven, particularly his surprise announcement that the main event will now have "NOOOO Disqualifications!"
In 2009, he was wisely inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by another legendary WWE personality Mean Gene Okerlund. He then proceeded to pop up on various WWE programming and was later a cast member of WWE's first original reality show Legends' House. His last shining moment as a ring announcer was at Survivor Series 2011, where he was personally selected by CM Punk to be his personal ring announcer for his WWE Championship match. The show just so happened to take place in MSG and the crowd proceeded to warmly receive Finkel and chant his name, causing him to tear up on camera. This moment however is sadly tainted due to the mean interjections of the commentators, particularly Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield.
Howard Finkel is an absolute icon. His brilliant announcing made everybody from the lowly jobber to the superstars of the WWE look like a million bucks.
He will sorely be missed.
