Legendary WWE ring announcer Howard Finkel’s health is said to be poor these days.
Jerry “The King” Lawler claimed last July on his podcast — Dinner With The King — that 68-year-old Finkel is dealing with serious health issues and may have suffered a stroke.
“I just heard not long ago that Howard [Finkel] is in really, really bad health,” Lawler said. “Not good at all. He may have had a stroke. I’m not sure but I just know that he’s not doing well.”
Dave Meltzer addressed Finkel’s health in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but without going into specifics. He said that Finkel is currently in poor health, describing it as a “really a sad story.”
“There have been a lot of questions regarding Howard Finkel, 68, the Hall of Fame ring announcer and longest employee of the Vince McMahon Jr. company ever since Jerry Lawler on his podcast said Finkel suffered a serious stroke. WWE has kept all information on Finkel quiet, and even friends of his didn’t know what was going on. What we do know is that Finkel, who nobody has seen since Lawler said that, has been in poor health since that time and it’s really a sad story.”
Finkel began working for Vince McMahon’s father, Vincent J. McMahon, in 1975, and moved to ring announcing duties the following year, eventually becoming the benchmark against which all others would be judged, with his deep, booming delivery tailor-made for the role.
Finkel’s on-air role began to decrease during the Attitude Era, but his unbroken 43-year tenure makes him WWE’s longest-serving employee. Up until 2016, he appeared at every WrestleMania.
Finkel’s last tweet was last April when he commented on the passing of Bruno Sammartino.
RIP Bruno Sammartino. His legacy will live on forever!!
— Howard Finkel (@howardfinkel) April 18, 2018
