Howard Finkel: Bio
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Dropkicks and armbars? They're not in his repertoire. Ironically, his greatest ring victory came from being in the winning corner of a Hair vs. Hair Match at SummerSlam in 1998. He'll jokingly admit that the closest he's come to slapping on a Figure-Four is when he crosses his shoelaces. Nevertheless, he is unquestionably one of WWE's most influential figures -- a beloved ring icon who was more than worthy of being inducted into the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame class.
We're talking, of course, about the most famous ring announcer in WWE history, Howard Finkel.
With an arsenal consisting of a microphone and booming voice tailor-made for venues like Madison Square Garden, the ring announcing style of this New Jersey native has become synonymous with the pantheons of WWE lore. For three decades, the likes of a Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin were instantly regaled as WWE Champions because Howard Finkel's resonance and timbre made it so. His tonal intonations following every match gave voice to the joy, the angst and the excitement felt by millions of fans around the world. In those moments where he'd emphatically stretch out the words "…and NEEWWW World Champion…!", Howard had, in essence, provided immediate weight and credence to the in-ring history that had just transpired. At that moment, it all mattered.