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What’s the story?
Legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel’s health seems to have deteriorated drastically as per a revelation made by Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.
The King opened up about the alarming news on the latest edition of his ‘Dinner with the King’ podcast and disclosed his knowledge of the veteran announcer’s current condition.
In case you didn’t know…
Finkel is the godfather of all veterans when it comes to WWE, having completed 38 years of full-time employment with the company in April 2018. He began working for Vince McMahon's father, Vince McMahon Sr. way back in 1977 and hasn’t stopped ever since, making him the longest-tenured employee in WWE history.
At 68 years old, his appearances may be scarce these days but he still considers himself to be semi-retired.
His last work for WWE came as a part of Raw 25th Anniversary celebrations when he introduced the Undertaker. He was initially advertised to be present at the iconic show but couldn't make it and instead, his voice recording was used during the Deadman’s entrance.
Finkel even has the prestigious WWE Hall of Fame ring as he was inducted amongst fellow legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat as part of 2009’s class by ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund.
The heart of the matter
Corey Jacobs of Wrestlingnews.co broke the news a couple of weeks ago regarding Finkel’s health and our worst fears were indeed confirmed by The King himself.
Lawler mentioned on his podcast that he had heard about Finkel’s ‘really, really bad health not too long ago. He refrained from sharing any more details as he himself was short on them but added that Finkel may have suffered a stroke.
“I just heard not long ago that Howard [Finkel] is in really, really bad health.” He added, “Not good at all. He may have had a stroke. I’m not sure but I just know that he’s not doing well,”
What’s next?
Our prayers go out to The Fink and his family. We hope the WWE Hall of Famer undergoes a speedy recovery and gets back to doing what he does best.
Leave your best wishes for the legend in the comments below.
