Howard Finkel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Howard Finkel |
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Finkel at WrestleMania 28 Axxess
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| Born | June 7, 1950 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | April 16, 2020 (aged 69) Madison, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Dopo The Fink Finkus Maximus Howard Finkel |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Debut | 1975 |
Howard Finkel (June 7, 1950 – April 16, 2020) was an American professional wrestling ring announcer. He was best known for his work with WWE. Finkel started working for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975. He became the ring announcer at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Howard Finkel was WWE's longest-serving employee, working for 40 years. Many people consider him the greatest ring announcer ever. He was added to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
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Howard Finkel's Early Life and Career
Howard Finkel was born on June 7, 1950, in Newark, New Jersey. He grew up in a Jewish family.
Finkel first worked as a ring announcer at Madison Square Garden on January 17, 1977. By 1979, he was the main ring announcer for the World Wide Wrestling Federation's biggest shows. He became the first official WWE employee on April 1, 1980. His unique voice was sometimes used in the opening videos for the company's TV shows.
His most famous announcement was when a new champion won a title. He would strongly say the word "new" to get the crowd excited. Finkel also came up with the name "WrestleMania". He also gave Ricky Steamboat his "Dragon" nickname. In 1984, he became the main ring announcer for WWF television tapings.
In a 2011 interview, Finkel shared that his knowledge of wrestling history helped with talent and creative ideas in the early days of WWF. On January 19, 1987, Gene Okerlund gave Finkel a special award. It celebrated ten years of announcing at Madison Square Garden. At WrestleMania IX in 1993, which had a Roman theme, Finkel wore a toga. He was introduced as Finkus Maximus. In 1995, Finkel took a break from announcing on TV for seven months. He still worked at live shows. He returned to full-time announcing at Royal Rumble 1996.
Finkel's Storylines in Wrestling
Even though Finkel was usually just an announcer, he sometimes became part of the wrestling stories. In November 1990, Ted DiBiase paid Finkel to let him announce a match. DiBiase then helped Curt Hennig win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
In 1992, Finkel started a rivalry with manager Dr. Harvey Wippleman. Wippleman often complained about Finkel's announcing. Later that year, Wippleman's wrestler Adam Bomb attacked Finkel. At WrestleMania X, Wippleman yelled at Finkel and ripped his tuxedo. Finkel pushed Wippleman to the ground. This led to Finkel's first match on January 9, 1995. On Monday Night Raw, Finkel won a tuxedo match against Wippleman.
Finkel also got involved in a rivalry between X-Pac and Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett shaved Finkel's head. This led to a Hair versus Hair Match at SummerSlam 1998. Finkel was in X-Pac's corner. X-Pac won, and Finkel helped him cut Jarrett's hair.
In August 1999, Finkel started working for Chris Jericho. Jericho encouraged Finkel to attack SmackDown announcer Tony Chimel. Finkel tried to take Chimel's spot, but Chimel threw him out of the ring. Jericho then used Finkel to distract Ken Shamrock during a match. This allowed Jericho to hit Shamrock with a steel chair.
Weeks later, Finkel became El Dopo, a masked referee. He unfairly helped Curtis Hughes win a match against Shamrock. Later, Jericho defeated Hughes with Finkel's help. After the match, Jericho made Finkel work for Curtis Hughes. On Monday Night Raw, Hughes lost Finkel to The Acolytes in a poker game.
In August 2002, Finkel turned into a "bad guy" on Raw. He had a short rivalry with Raw ring announcer Lilian Garcia over who would be the main announcer. Both were then attacked by 3-Minute Warning. The next week, Garcia defeated Finkel in a match. She got help from Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler, who were upset by something Finkel said.
Later Years in WWE (2000–2020)
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By 2000, Howard Finkel worked a lighter schedule. Lilian Garcia and Tony Chimel took over many announcing duties. But Finkel still announced for some of the WWF/E's big pay-per-view events. By 2006, he was rarely heard at these events. However, he regularly announced at live house shows. He also introduced the WWE Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania.
Finkel himself was inducted into the Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009. Gene Okerlund introduced him. Because Finkel was being honored, Justin Roberts introduced the other Hall of Fame members at WrestleMania XXV. Finkel appeared on TV only sometimes, usually at major events. He appeared at every WrestleMania from 1985 to 2016.
Finkel did voiceovers for WWE.com shows. He also interviewed wrestlers for various WWE.com programs. He was WWE's main statistician, keeping track of records and facts. On September 7, 2009, he announced segments inspired by The Price is Right with guest host Bob Barker. He was also seen in the background during the "Decade of SmackDown" celebration on October 2.
Finkel returned to ring announcing for one night on November 15, 2010. This was for the "Old School" episode of Raw. He appeared on an episode of NXT for a challenge called "Outthink the Fink." In a March 28, 2011, interview, Finkel said his favorite career moment was announcing at WrestleMania III. He did this in front of over 93,000 fans. On November 20, 2011, at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden, Finkel was the special announcer for CM Punk. This was for Punk's WWE Championship match against Alberto Del Rio.
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 for the 1,000th episode of Raw. In 2014, Finkel was on the WWE Network reality show, Legends' House. He also did off-screen announcing for the comedy show, The Edge and Christian Show. Finkel regularly appeared in the WWE web series The JBL and Cole Show until it ended in June 2015. Other announcers started introducing the WWE Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania from 2017. On January 22, 2018, for the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw, Finkel introduced The Undertaker. This was a recording because he could not attend.
In his final years, Finkel worked behind the scenes for WWE. On June 14, 2020, at the Backlash event, a recording of Howard Finkel was played. He introduced Edge and Randy Orton for their "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever."
Howard Finkel's Passing
Howard Finkel died on April 16, 2020, at 69 years old. He had been unwell since having a stroke in February 2019.
Howard Finkel's On-Air Roles
- WWF Superstars of Wrestling ring announcer
- Heat ring announcer
- Byte This host
- Raw ring announcer (January 1993–1997)
- SmackDown ring announcer
- Madison Square Garden ring announcer
- Madison Square Garden color commentator
- WWE Hall of Fame announcer (WrestleMania)
- Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) ring announcer
- In Your House ring announcer (1995–1999)
Awards and Achievements
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)
See also
In Spanish: Howard Finkel para niños
