Chris Jericho wishes that Howard Finkel could have had a longer tenure as the voice of WWE.
On Thursday, April 16, 2020, the wrestling world lost a legend when Howard Finkel passed away. As the first WWE employee and the voice of so many iconic moments through the years, Howard left an indelible mark in the minds of many fans, some of whom grew up to be performers themselves.
Chris Jericho Is one such performer. Jericho was a fan of WWE during the 1980s and a decade later would be making his own WWE debut with Howard Finkel announcing him to the ring.
Speaking on his Saturday night Q&A sessions, Chris Jericho took some time to reminisce on the legacy of Howard Finkel, noting that although he was taken off of Television due to aesthetic reasons, Jericho wishes he could have heard Howard Finkel call many more moments throughout the years.
“When you were a kid, Howard Finkel was the voice for wrestling. He was the greatest announcer of all time by far,” said Y2J. “I think they took him off TV like 20 years ago. He's 69 when he passed away. They took him off TV when he was my age for aesthetic reasons. Listen, I get it. TV looks. I don't give a shit what the ring announcer looks like. I couldn't care less. I care about the voice and Howard had the voice. The voice. Same reason when they took Jim Ros off commentary. Why? You're not looking at his face! You don't like his face... It's his voice. That's what wrestling is!”
Chris continued, “You equate the voice with the memories and the matches and the monumental events that happened. So when I think of Howard, I think I think of like when Hogan fights Andre at WrestleMania 3. Who's the ring announcer? Howard Finkel! Do we see his face? No. Do we hear his voice? Yes. So I think it was a little bit of a shame that they didn't allow Howard to continue on. But let's take away the negative and focus on the positive.”
Jericho also reminisces about the time he spent working with Howard as his own lackey. Chris said there was no one more loyal to WWE than their first employee and echoed the sentiments of many when he said Howard was a great man with a kind heart that will be truly missed.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Fightful by linking back to this transcription.
