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Howard Finkel

@howardfinkel
Last updated by M.A LeBlanc on April 18, 2020

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[Howard Finkel GALLERY]

Check out Howard Finkel’s WWE Alumni profile here!

Career Highlights

  • Howard Finkel started as an usher at the New Haven Coliseum, then talked to Vince Sr there one night, got a shot at ring announcing.
  • On January 17th 1977, Howard Finkel did his first gig as the ring announcer for pro wrestling in Madison Square Garden. The previous guy, known as Friendly Bob Freed, was really tall, much taller than almost all the wrestlers and kind of ruined the illusion of Andre to a degree. The top matches on that show were Bruno Sammartino vs. Ken Patera, Ivan Putski vs. Bruiser Frank Brody, Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf vs. The Executioners (John Studd and Killer Kowalski), Bobo Brazil vs. Stan Stasiak, Pat Patterson vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna, Nikolai Volkoff and Tor Kamata vs. Manuel Soto and Domenic DeNucci, Greg Gagne vs. Johnny Rodz, Doug Gilbert (no relation to the current Doug Gilbert) vs. Don Serrano and Jose Gonzalez (who later murdered Brody) vs. Pete Sanchez.
  • Howard Finkel began with the WWWF as the ring announcer for shows held in Madison Square Garden during the mid 1970s.
  • ~~~Vince McMahon Jr. took over the WWF, Howard Finkel became the lead ring announcer for all major WWF events.
  • ~~~Vince McMahon wanted to expand the WWF from regional into nationwide and felt that the company needed their own ‘voice’.
  • ~~~Howard Finkel became the MSG announcer on MSG Cablevision/USA Network broadcasts.
  • Howard Finkel is credited for giving Ricky Steamboat his “Dragon” moniker.
  • Howard Finkel had a brief stint as a commentator, but that didn’t last.
  • WrestleMania X: Howard Finkel pushes Harvey Wippleman to the ground after Wippleman verbally and physically harassed him.
  • Howard Finkel also serves as an advisor for WWF publications.
  • July 5, 1999: Howard Finkel snitched to police where X-Pac and Roaddog were backstage so they could be arrested.
  • July 12, 1999: X-Pac and Road Dog found Howard Finkel backstage and tarred and feathered him for punishment.
  • August 1999: Howard Finkel became a lacky for newcomer Chris Jericho, who repeatedly took advantage of The Fink’s loyalty.
  • September 16, 1999 – SmackDown: Curtis Hughes beat Ken Shamrock by disqualification with a masked referee named El Dopo (Howard Finkel).
  • October 14, 1999 – SmackDown: Chris Jericho defeated Curtis Hughes with help from Howard Finkel.
  • ~~~After the match, Chris Jericho “gave” Curtis Hughes the services of Howard Finkel….
  • October 18, 1999 – RAW: Curtis Hughes lost everything, including Howard Finkel, to the Acolytes in a game of poker.
  • Howard Finkel took a lighter schedule with addition of Tony Chimmel and Lilian Garcia to the Raw and SmackDown shows.
  • Howard Finkel provided ring announcing for Pay Per Views and House Shows and weekend shows.
  • Howard Finkel co-hosted WWE Byte This.
  • Howard Finkel has appeared at the first twenty editions of WrestleMania.
  • Howard Finkel has been involved with angles with such wrestlers as Chris Jericho, APA and Trish Stratus.
  • Aug 5, 2002 – RAW: The Fink and Lilian Garcia begin a feud to be the RAW ring announcer, but are attacked by the Island Boys!
  • Aug 26, 2002 – RAW: Lilian Garcia beat The Fink in an evening gown/tuxedo match for the right to be the RAW ring announcer.
  • October 3, 2005 – WWE Homecoming: Howard Finkel participated in a Legends Ceremony which included roughly 24 Legends.
  • April 1, 2007 – WrestleMania 23: Howard Finkel appeared and introduced all the WWE Hall of Fame Inductees Class of 2007.
  • June 11, 2007 – RAW: The Mr. McMahon “character” was tragically killed when his private limousine exploded into a ball of flames.
  • December 10, 2007 – RAW 15th Anniversary: Howard Finkel made an appearance on the show to celebrate RAW’s 15th Year on TV.
  • March 30, 2008 – WrestleMania 24: Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Inductees Class of 2008.
  • December 8, 2008 – RAW (Slammy Awards): Howard Finkel participated in the “Damn! Moment of the Year” presentation.
  • March 24, 2009 – ECW on Sci-Fi: They announced that Howard Finkel would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
  • April 4, 2009 – WWE Hall of Fame: Howard Finkel was officially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Mean Gene Okerland!.
  • April 5, 2009 – WrestleMania 25: The entire WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009 was introduced to the live crowd as a tribute.
  • September 7, 2009 – RAW: Howard Finkel welcomed everyone to the “Price is RAW” with its special guest host.. BOB BARKER!!
  • March 28, 2010 – WrestleMania 26: Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2010 to the live audience.
  • November 15, 2010 – Old School RAW: Howard Finkel was one of many old school wrestlers to appear on this special episode.
  • January 25, 2011 – WWE NXT: The final four of NXT Season 4 all lost to Howard Finkel in a “Beat the Fink” Trivia Contest!
  • November 20, 2011 – Survivor Series: Howard Finkle was the special ring announce for CM Punk’s match.
  • April 10, 2012 – SmackDown: Howard Finkle appeard on the SmackDown episode of the blast from the past.
  • July 23, 2012 – RAW: Howard Finkle was the special ring announcer for the 1,000th episode of RAW.
  • April 2014 – Howard Finkle is a cast member of the WWE network TV show Legends House.
  • April 16, 2020: Howard Finkle passed away at the age of 69.