| Howard Finkel | |
|---|---|
 Finkel in 2012 | |
| Born | (1950-06-07)June 7, 1950[1] Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | April 16, 2020(2020-04-16) (aged 69) Madison, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Dopo[2] The Fink[2] Finkus Maximus[2] Howard Finkel[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1] |
| Debut | 1975[1] |
Howard Finkel (June 7, 1950 – April 16, 2020) was an Americanprofessional wrestlingring announcer, backstage worker, and occasionalprofessional wrestler, best known for his appearances inWWE.[2] He began working forVincent J. McMahon'sWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975, and was aMadison Square Garden ring announcer since 1977. Finkel was WWE's longest-serving employee (40 years) and is widely regarded as the greatest ring announcer of all time. He was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2009.[3][1]
Finkel was born on June 7, 1950, in the city ofNewark, New Jersey, and grew up with a Jewish family.[4][5]
Finkel, debuted as a ring announcer atMadison Square Garden on January 17, 1977. By 1979, he was theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation's lead ring announcer for its biggest events. He became the firstWWE employee on April 1, 1980, and later its longest-serving.[6] Throughout his career, his distinctive voice was sometimes used in thetitle sequence 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.[7] In 1984, he became WWF's lead ring announcer for television tapings, replacingJoe McHugh.
During a 2011 interview, Finkel said his knowledge of history had also played a part in the talent relations and creative departments during the early days of the WWF.[8] On January 19, 1987, Finkel was presented a plaque byGene Okerlund, commemorating ten years of announcing at Madison Square Garden.[9] In 1993, at the Roman-themedWrestleMania IX, he was introduced in atoga as "Finkus Maximus".[10] During the May 10th, 1993 episode ofMonday Night Raw, Finkel's car was damaged byShawn Michaels andCurt Hennig during a brawl outside theManhattan Center before the show started. 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 atRoyal Rumble 1996.
In 1999, he feuded with announcerTony Chimel.
By 2000, Howard Finkel had taken a lighter schedule with the additions ofLilian Garcia andTony Chimel toRaw andSmackDown!, 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 theWWE Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania. Finkel himself was inducted on April 4, 2009, byGene Okerlund. Because Finkel was one of that year's inductees,SmackDown announcerJustin Roberts replaced him in introducing the group atWrestleMania 25. Finkel's television appearances were sporadic, at major pay-per-views and occasional episodes ofRaw andSmackDown. Finkel appeared at everyWrestleMania from 1985 to 2016.
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 chiefstatistician. On the September 7, 2009 episode ofRaw, he announced in special guest hostBob Barker'sThe Price is Right-inspired segments. He was in the background of theDecade ofSmackDown celebrations on the October 2 episode. Finkel returned to ring announcing (for one night only) on the November 15, 2010,"Old School" episode ofRaw. He appeared on an episode ofNXT, in an "Outthink the Fink" challenge. In an interview on March 28, 2011, Finkel stated his favorite (and career-defining) accomplishment was announcing atWrestleMania III, in front of over 93,000 fans.[8] On November 20, 2011, atSurvivor Series in Madison Square Garden, Finkel was the special ring announcer forCM Punk, in hisWWE Championship match againstAlberto Del Rio.
On April 13, 2012, Finkel appeared on the "Blast from the Past" episode ofSmackDown. On July 23, 2012, Finkel was a special ring announcer on the1,000th episode ofRaw. In 2014, Finkel was a cast member on theWWE Network original reality show,Legends' House. He also served as the off-screen announcer for the network's comedy series,The Edge and Christian Show. Finkel regularly appeared in the WWEweb seriesThe JBL and Cole Show, until the show's cancellation in June 2015. His role in announcing theWWE Hall of Fame inductees at WrestleMania passed to other ring announcers in the WWE beginning in 2017. On January 22, 2018, at the25th anniversary ofMonday Night Raw, Finkel was the announcer to introduceThe Undertaker, although it was a recording due to him being unable to attend the event.[11]
During the final years of his life, Finkel worked in a backstage role for WWE.[12] On June 14, 2020, at theBacklash PPV, a recording of Howard Finkel introducing bothEdge andRandy Orton to the 'Greatest Wrestling Match Ever' was played, introducing the pair of combatants.[13]
As an announcer, Finkel was generally separate from the scriptedangles, but occasionally he became part of the company's storylines. In November 1990, Finkel played a tangential role inCurt Hennig defeatingKerry Von Erich to win theWWF Intercontinental Championship after he accepted a bribe fromTed DiBiase (whom Von Erich had recently attacked onTheBrother 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 managerDr. Harvey Wippleman, who regularly complained about Finkel's announcing and often making comments on his appearance. Later that year the feud turned physical when Finkel shoved Wippleman before being triple teamed by Wippleman,Kim Chee andKamala. When Wippleman dropped the doctor gimmick, the feud would cool off untilWrestleMania X, when Wippleman berated Finkel's appearance again and tore off part of the announcer's tuxedo, who finally retaliated by pushing the manager to the ground before being confronted by Wippleman'sAdam Bomb before being saved byEarthquake leading to the start of their match. The ongoing feud would lead to Finkel's first match on January 9, 1995; onMonday Night Raw, he won atuxedo match over Wippleman, by stripping him to his underwear.
Finkel became involved in a feud betweenX-Pac andJeff Jarrett, when Jarrettshaved the already near-bald Finkel's head. This feud culminated in aHair versus Hair Match atSummerSlam 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 debutedChris Jericho. On August 26, during the network debut episode ofWWF SmackDown!, Jericho encouraged Finkel to attack SmackDown announcerTony Chimel 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 withKen Shamrock, 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 toCurtis Hughes.[14] On the October 14 episode ofSmackDown!, Jericho defeated Hughes with help from Finkel, butgave Finkel to Curtis Hughes after the match.[15] Four days later onMonday Night Raw, Hughes bet and lost Finkel in a game of poker, toThe Acolytes.[16] Finkel turned heel on an August 2002 episode ofRaw and began a brief feud withRaw ring announcerLilian Garcia over the lead spot, before both were attacked by3-Minute Warning.[17] The following week, Garcia defeated Finkel in an evening gown/tuxedo match with help fromTrish Stratus andStacy Keibler, who were insulted by a remark made by Finkel.[18]
Finkel died on April 16, 2020, at the age of 69.[19][3] He had been unwell since astroke in February 2019.[20] On the podcastSomething to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Prichard mentioned that Finkel had been a resident of anassisted living facility for some time prior to his death.[21]
Going along with the Roman motif, ring announcer Howard Finkel's name at WrestleMania IX was changed to "Finkus Maximus."
,Internet Wrestling Database
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