WWE legend Howard Finkel dies at 69

Legendary WWE ring announcer Howard Finkel has died at age 69.

The WWE announced the news on Thursday, though no cause of death was given. Stephanie McMahon paid tribute to Finkel on Twitter, pointing out that he was the first employee hired by the McMahon family.

In what has already been a tough week for our @WWE family, today we lost our 1st ever employee and WWE Hall of Famer, @howardfinkel. Howard’s voice is iconic & recognized by generations of fans. He will be missed. #RIPHowardFinkel Thank you for everything.

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) April 16, 2020

Finkel, whose nickname was “The Fink,” began as a ring announcer with the then-WWF in 1977 and became a full-time announcer by 1979. Like many other announcers in wrestling, he also made some in-ring appearances over the years. He eventually transitioned to a part-time role and predominantly worked behind the scenes in recent years.

Finkel was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

This has been a difficult week for the WWE, as they also had to let go of some of their notable names due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.