Opinion
Cook’s Top 5: Howard Finkel Moments
Steve Cook takes a look back the Top 5 moments of legendary WWE performer Howard Finkel!
Steve Cook takes a look back the Top 5 moments of legendary WWE performer Howard Finkel!
The ring announcer is an often overlooked part of sports entertainment. Whether it be a wrestling, boxing or mixed martial art event, a great show becomes even better with the right person introducing the combatants & announcing the winners. Ring announcers that stick around with a company or stay in one area forever are remembered just as much as the fighters are.
Howard Finkel was an overlooked part of WWE for most of the company’s existence. He was the first employee hired when the WWWF became the WWF. The Fink came up with the name of pro wrestling’s most storied event: WrestleMania. He was the ring announcer for the lion’s share of the company’s most important shows during the 1980s & 1990s. There is not a ring announcer more associated with a company than Howard Finkel is with WWE. Whether he was ever fully appreciated by the company he devoted his life to, it’s tough to say. I can say that the majority of WWE fans over the years certainly did appreciate him.
The Fink passed away this week at the age of 69, making an already difficult week for pro wrestling even worse. Today we look back at some of Howard Finkel’s best moments in WWE.
5. No One Could Out-Think The Fink
Howard was known within WWE as having more knowledge of company history than anybody else. He was there for most of it, and was always paying close attention. If somebody needed a factoid or statistic, they went to Howard. He got to show off his knowledge regularly on the old Byte This internet show, and displayed it on television against some of the NXT Season 2 rookies.
4. Hair-Raising Situations
Finkel’s hair, or lack thereof, was a constant source of comedy throughout his career. The TV announcers would often refer to his lack of hair. Sy Sperling even tried to help him out at WrestleMania X. In 1998, Jeff Jarrett shaved off what was left of Howard’s hair, which ended up backfiring on him at SummerSlam. X-Pac won a hair vs. hair match, and Howard joined in the fun of cutting Jarrett’s hair. Sadly, Howard’s hair never grew back, but the shaved look grew on him (obviously not literally).
3. The #1 Jerichoholic
When Chris Jericho arrived in the WWF, he garnered a lot of attention from fans everywhere. Nobody was a bigger fan of the newest WWF Superstar than Howard Finkel. Jericho took Finkel under his wing, using the Fink’s earnestness to impress to amuse himself and create distractions for his opponents. Y2J eventually sent Howard off on his own, remembering how his previous bald associate Ralphus had gotten a big ego.
2. Howard the Coward
While Howard busied himself with being Jericho’s #1 fan, Lilian Garcia took over Raw ring announcing duties. I love Lilian now, but have to admit that she didn’t get off to a great start in the ring announcing role. Fans wanted the Fink back on Raw, and they eventually got him in August 2002…after he pushed Lilian into Three Minute Warning, who destroyed her in short order. After this less than manly display, Howard displayed a more lecherous side than we were accusomed to while re-taking the Raw ring announcing gig. Shockingly, this didn’t last long & Lilian got the job back.
1. Feuding With Harvey Wippleman
Howard & Bruno had a lot in common. Both were lifelong wrestling fans that would do anything to get into the business despite their physical limitations. Howard became a ring announcer, Bruno became a manager, and their paths intersected when Bruno got to the WWF in 1991 as Dr. Harvey Wippleman. Finkel would introduce Wippleman in a less than enthuiastic tone than we were accustomed to, and the men were at odds for years. They had a number of physical altercations which eventually led to a series of tuxedo matches, one of which was held on Raw in January 1995. I’ll spare you the footage of Finkel & Wippleman in various states of undress.
Howard Finkel has been an important part of pro wrestling as far back as I can remember. While WWE tried to replace him on many occasions, and there are plenty of ring announcers that have done exceptional work over the years, The Fink will never be replaced in the hearts & minds of wrestling fans of my age group & older.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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