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Today is a horrible day. I’m going to just get that out of the way and state the obvious.
Like a lot of people who have loved professional wrestling, Howard Finkel, was, to me, the voice of professional wrestling and in my eyes, the measuring stick, the greatest ring announcer of all time.
You can debate other great announcers (and there are lots of great ring announcers) but no one could ever measure up to the booming voice and delivery of Howard Finkel. As I sit here writing this, I can hear Howard’s voice declaring the “NEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW” WWF Champion in Hulk Hogan. He had the right base in his voice. He knew just when to up the drama, when to hold the letters and exactly how to hit what he needed to bring out the right level of fan excitement from his place in the center of the squared circle.
As a kid growing up in New York City, there was nothing more important in the world of professional wrestling than a show in Madison Square Garden and Howard was the voice that welcomed you to the show, he was the ringmaster who marked the beginning and the end of each match on the card with his announcements and perhaps, most importantly, he was the person who would announce the card for the next show, getting more and more animated as he rose from the opening matches to the main events, releasing the name of the top babyface with a fiery, bombastic announcement.
“HUUUUUUUULK HOOOOOOOGAAAAAAN!”
“THE ULLLLLLLLTIMATE WARRRRRRRIOOOOOOR”
"ROOOOOOOWDY RODDDDDDY PIPPPPPER!"
Howard could sell the goods like no one else but was also seen as sort of the unofficial Mayor of the town that gathered inside the Garden. You could love or hate the heroes. You could hate the villains. You might even hate the referee for blowing a call, but no one ever hated Howard Finkel.
When Finkel entered the ring and the ring mic lowered from the ceiling of Madison Square Garden, emblazoned with the MSG logo, it marked the beginning of the adventure that fans went on when they assembled in the World’s Greatest Arena.
I am sitting here with goosebumps right now, thinking of the first show I ever attended, December 26, 1986. I can see in my memories, clear as day, Howard announcing Hulk Hogan as the then-WWF Champion stormed the ring to face Kamala. As loud as that reaction from the audience was, Finkel’s voice bounced off every corner of MSG
Howard was an important spoke in the wheel that was and is World Wrestling Entertainment. He was the company’s first employee. He coined the phrase Wrestlemania, inspired by BeatleMania, creating a brand name that will be as important as any star who headlines the event. More than being an incredible ring announcer, Finkel was also perhaps the person who loved professional wrestling and working for WWE more than anyone else.
Howard was also impeccable as an announcer, to the point that the one time he made an error - announcing King Tonga instead of King Haku at Wrestlemania V, it remains ingrained in my memory as perhaps the only flub of Finkel's televised career. He was that great.
I was lucky enough to regularly see Howard at different conventions and events over the years. I would never suggest we were friends, but he shocked me by knowing exactly who I was without anyone introducing us and spoke with me about different pro wrestling topics of that week as if we were indeed lifelong friends, not someone who grew up watching him ring announce and somehow, thanks to dumb luck and circumstance, ended up writing about pro wrestling. I was not alone with this experience - Howard treated every single person he came across as if he was their friend and that they all shared the same passion he did. If someone didn't like Finkel (and I have never come across someone who didn't), that was probably a statement on their own lack of character.
I would often tell him when I saw him that he needed to one day write a book, because no one would have the insight or the knowledge that he did. Who else would know where the real skeletons were buried? He would smile and say, “Mike, I love these people….” and that would be it. The message was always clear. Say no more. He was loyal out of love for WWE and the McMahons. I don’t know if he ever did decide to write anything, but I think the wrestling world will be forever poorer without Finkel having gifted everyone his passion in the written word.
We will, forever though, be gifted by his voice.
Finkel was a lifelong wrestling fan who was working as an usher at the New Haven Coliseum in the early 70s. While he fought with the rabbit ear antenna trying to watch WWWF TV, he came upon the realization that a Long Island UHF station carrying WWWF was coming across clear as day over Long Island Sound for viewers in the New Haven market. That meant they could promote New Haven, bringing pro wrestling back to the city.
Wanting to see wrestling back in his home market, Finkel went to the manager of the arena and suggested they let the promotion know they could easily run New Haven again because fans had a way to watch the product. When the building manager let Vince McMahon know, McMahon wanted to meet Howard to thank him for setting the stage for the company to return to New Haven in 1975. They exchanged numbers and stayed in touch.
When McMahon learned that Finkel had some announcing experience from school, he suggested Finkel try out as a ring announcer. Finkel made his debut on a 1976 WWWF event in Worcester, MA. 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.
Finkel, just trying to pay things forward because he loved professional wrestling, ended up gifting himself with a life as part of the circus.
There are going to be a lot of people who say really nice, wonderful things about Howard today and in the words of Han Solo, “It’s true. All of it.”
If there was a calming influence within WWE, it was Howard Finkel. He sincerely loved being around pro wrestling and about being part of it, but always knew his role was a supporting one. When he was deservedly inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, he made sure to point out that he saw himself as a supporting character and that it was his job to make the WWE stars look strong, something he was absolutely marvelous at.
In the 1980s and 1990s, WWF TV tapings ran forever, sometimes 4-plus hours but Finkel would pull out a Herculean effort to keep the crowds exciting by teasing the eventual main events that were to come, somewhere, down the line.
“COMING UP SOON….THE UNNNNNNDERTAKKKKER!”
Finkel would also be the master of ceremonies of getting these crowds to cheer and boo as needed so the company could record the audio to sweeten the post-produced shows. He would ask fans what they would do if they saw Bret Hart or Hulk Hogan, because they needed to “Test” the audio levels and no matter how late it was in the taping, he would get the venues to scream or boo (if they needed to have the audience tell them how would react to a dastardly heel) as loud as if it was the first match of the taping. That was an art that isn’t needed today, but is also sorely missed.
The reality is that Howard was the best ring announcer in WWE history and perhaps ever. No announcer ever had that intimate connection with the audience, as Howard did, where he was sort of seen as the extended family member. I can honestly say that no matter who was responsible for the decision, benching Finkel and removing him from television was among the dumbest ideas in the history of the company, because his voice brought such an incredible legitimacy and excitement to the proceedings.
Internally, Howard was beloved but like a lot of people who were beloved in the company, he took his fair share of ribbing. Unlike many who would have gotten frustrated, if Howard ever did get angry, he never let it out publicly. He took every practical joke he received (such as Shawn Michaels being hiptossed outside the Manhattan Center by Mr. Perfect, breaking the windshield of Finkel’s new car) and relished every single role he was given beyond ring announcing, whether it was wrestling Harvey Whippleman in some truly terrible tuxedo matches (I lived through them at least once at the Westchester County Center and I assure you, as much as I loved Howard's announcing, they were awful!), being given a full head of hair at Wrestlemania X by Hair Club for Men President Sy Sperling or marching with The Bushwhackers, The Fink was happy to do it.
Let's be honest. There were far too many times Finkel was the brunt of the joke, but he never complained. The WWE Hall of Fame package for him was as much about silly, light-hearted, stupid things he was cast to do as much as it was about being the voice of the definitive WWF generation, but it didn't matter to Howard, at least publicly. He knew his role within the company, even if the fans knew his true role was being the best ring announcer WWE could ever, ever hope for.
Behind the scenes, Finkel was also the unofficial news gatherer and historian for the company. He would subscribe to all the newsletters and call all the hotlines of the day, collating all the information he felt Vince McMahon and others would need to know, not just about their company but all the other groups. He would also be the person tracking down talent that Vince McMahon wanted to hire. In later years, he would be the one helping track developmental talent and calling them to tell them they were coming to TV or the main roster. I am sure he held many, many other behind the scenes responsibilities, but whatever they were, I couldn’t tell you offhand because he certainly would have never admitted them.
Finkel had a deep respect for those who were performers in the business. In the WWE reality series Legends House, there is a scene where he inadvertently disrespects Roddy Piper by sitting in the wrong seat in a limo. Although it probably would not seem like a big deal to the average person, you can see by the look on Finkel’s face that he’s legitimately heartbroken upon realizing that he’s upset Piper.
That was the real Howard, someone who never ever wanted to upset anyone he respected. He never saw himself as a star, but was willing to do anything to help the company and its stars get over. In doing so, he became the everyman, the avatar for the audience. He was a star for just being the window into the insanity and for being the person who held the audience’s hand through the journey. He was the walking embodiment of the pomp and circumstance of WWE itself.
That same reality series saw Finkel struggling to lose weight and when he later did drop quite a bit, it was something he was really proud of, opening his trademark tuxedo jacket to show how much stealthier he had become. He was always well-natured about himself, and never made things about him, even when he really did have every right to do so. When I interviewed him during a launch party for Legends House, he was beyond thankful that I wanted to talk to him for ten minutes, pointing out that I could miss time to interview Roddy Piper. As it turned out, I didn't get to interview Piper (my original favorite, which Howard knew) that day, but I have no regrets. Getting Finkel to tell the story of how he came to be in WWE's orbit was great, just like Howard was as a person.
Howard will also always have one of the greatest streaks in professional wrestling, appearing at every Wrestlemania through Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando, first as a ring announcer and then, later on, returning to introduce that year’s Hall of Fame class. No one other than a McMahon family member can likely say they were at more Wrestlemanias and none can say they were on 33 straight as a performer. On that evening in Orlando, however, Finkel was nowhere to be found. Like a lot of people who love wrestling history, I was saddened and honestly, annoyed by his absence. In my mind, certain things should never change and that was one of them - just as I would write for years that no one but Finkel should be ring announcing Madison Square Garden. Certain traditions should have be kept.
The next morning, I boarded a flight home at the Orlando Airport at 5 AM and fell asleep, exhausted from the long Wrestlemania week of running around to cover different shows, interview everyone I could and basically become a zombie enslaved to the madness of Wrestlemania City. I immediately fell asleep, only to be woken up by the flight attendant. I thought we had landed in NYC and I was unconscious for three hours. Instead, I was looking at an empty plane. It turned out they had a mechanical issue and everyone else had been instructed to exit as I slept. I was the last one off, with apologies and a voucher for breakfast, but I was angry. I just wanted to go home.
As it turned out, Finkel was on the same flight as me and I ended up passing him as I walked around, trying to keep myself awake. When I saw him, I asked why the streak had ended, pointing out my annoyance at it. He told me not to blame the company because it was his choice as he was having some back issues and didn’t want to chance walking all the way to the ring and getting in the ring and embarassing himself. While a lot of people blamed WWE for the streak ending, it was on Finkel’s terms, his choice and something he asked me at the time not to make a story. I respected his wishes, because after all, this wasn’t an on the record conversation, but now, out of respect, I want those reading this to know that it wasn’t something that was forced upon him, but something that he chose, out of respect for the fans and himself.
Howard had been dealing with a lot of health issues in recent years stemming from what had been assumed to be a stroke but was actually a rare brain disorder. He had been living in a nursing home in Connecticut where old friends, including Bob Backlund, Tommy Dreamer, Joey Styles, Justin Roberts, Mark Carrano and Sgt. Slaughter would come by to see him and from time to time, current WWE stars would show up to surprise him, which always made his day. The story that made the rounds, although I can’t confirm this, was that WWE made sure he was taken care of, out of love and respect for what he brought to their company.
Finkel couldn’t make the 25th Anniversary of Raw at the Manhattan Center due to his health. He watched it from the nursing home, but WWE made sure to include audio of his voice for The Undertaker’s entrance, out of respect for the first person to ever ring announcer Raw.
Howard would also make occasional excursions to Wrestlemania weekends when they were local enough so he could see friends. Every time a younger star would come up to him to introduce themselves, he would address them by their first name, because he knew them and everything about them - because to the end, he loved pro wrestling.
Pro wrestling loved you too Howard.
Rest in peace.
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