Howard Finkel was one of the greatest WWE announcers and passed away recently
WWE confirmed that legendary announcer Howard Finkel passed away at the age of 69.
Finkel is regarded as the greatest announcer WWE ever had but was in poor health for the past year.
The 69-year-old suffered a stroke earlier and his passing away saw emotional tributes from several stars.
In what has already been a tough week for our @WWE family, today we lost our 1st ever employee and WWE Hall of Famer, @howardfinkel. Howard’s voice is iconic & recognized by generations of fans. He will be missed. #RIPHowardFinkel Thank you for everything. ❤️🙏❤️
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) April 16, 2020
Finkel, popularly known as Fink, was known for the way he would introduce stars. He started his tenure with WWE in 1977, which was known as WWWF at that time.
The 69-year-old was also included into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 and was one of the longest-serving members of WWE before his workload was reduced in recent years.
Finkel had also announced the Undertaker coming to the ring in 2018, however, this was pre-recorded as he could not be at that Raw.
Even as Howard’s health declined, he was more concerned about me and my fight to be healthy. We lost one of the greatest ever. He was the greatest ring announcer ever, and that couldn’t even compare to the human being that he was. RIP Fink.
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) April 17, 2020
The 69-year-old did a lot of backstage work during his final years in the company, and he will be missed by many.
The first great ring announcer is gone. RIP @wwe Hall of Famer Howard Finkel. pic.twitter.com/jvkGDDVh4u
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) April 16, 2020
No cause of death released
There have been some rumours predicting why Finkel had died, however, WWE did not reveal the cause of the announcer’s death.
Finkel even fought a few times in the ring, but he will always be remembered by the way he would announce new champions.
We lost one of the greatest ring announcers of all time, Howard Finkel. Howard was the man who came up with the name “WrestleMania” and he was one of the most beloved people in @WWE. Howard ring announced my dad’s very first match at @TheGarden. We love you, Howard. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8TdmTvZQph
— Nattie (@NatbyNature) April 16, 2020
WWE had already been reeling with the backlash over their decision to fire several employees a couple of days back.
Rusev, Kurt Angle, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were some of the big casualties to have lost their jobs.
Vince McMahon and WWE claimed these were measures being taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, many superstars weren’t all too pleased with that decision too.
It will be interesting to see how WWE comes back from this decision to release several stars. It wasn’t just wrestlers who were released with backroom staff also being let go. McMahon added that pay cuts had been taken across the board too as the coronavirus has hit the wrestling industry hard.
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