His voice echoed around the world’s most famous venues more often than that of any rock star or musician, but Howard Finkel’s job was to make sure the spotlight shone on others.
The legendary professional wrestling ring announcer set the tone for some of the sport’s biggest bouts, and was inducted into the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Hall of Fame in 2009.
His booming tenor introduced competitors from Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant to The Rock and John Cena during decades behind the microphone, with Finkel always striving to add some extra excitement to the arrival of stars who were already larger than life.
In addition to addressing crowds at countless mammoth stateside events, he handled introductions during the Summerslam spectacular at Wembley Stadium in 1992.
Following his death at the age of 69, some of the industry’s biggest names paid tribute to the stalwart affectionately nicknamed “The Fink”.
WWE CEO Vince McMahon said: “The grandest moments in sports entertainment history were made all the grander thanks to Howard’s iconic voice.”
The Newark native fell in love with wrestling in his youth and debuted as a ring announcer for the World Wide Wrestling Federation – the predecessor to WWE – at Madison Square Garden in 1977.
The announcer then became the first person WWE hired when it was established in 1980, and he was its longest-serving employee.
Notably, he is credited with coming up with the name “Wrestlemania” for the company’s annual showcase event – which began in the 1980s and continues to this day.
Despite being a ring announcer, Finkel didn’t shy away from getting involved in the action when needed, and helped shave the head of villain Jeff Jarrett in 1998 after he lost a Hair vs Hair match.
His distinct, drawn-out enunciation of the word “new” when a certain grappler had just defeated an adversary to claim their championship belt became a fondly remembered tradition.
When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he explained that he did this to “make their ascension to the throne memorable”.
Though he stepped back from his duties in later years, he made a notable cameo appearance at a Madison Square Garden show in 2011 when he introduced WWE champion CM Punk for his match.
The crowd gave him a hero’s welcome and Finkel was moved to tears before making the announcement.
He died on Thursday, after being in poor health following a stroke last year.