Professional wrestling is known for being an all-round package of entertainment.
While the muscle and grunt action between the ropes is most where stories often begin and end, the show itself consists of much more.
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On-screen characters in WWE, for instance, are given personas enriched with a backstory, an entrance song and accompanying video and, sometimes, a very good or very bad wrestling name if not performing under their own.
Fans watching the action on Netflix in 2025 are treated to the highest quality video production, pyrotechnics, dazzling lights and a truckload more.
And while those viewers are guided through their visual journey by legendary commentators like Michael Cole, Pat McAfee and, in the past, Jerry The King Lawler and Jim Ross, the thousands watching live in areas have no such luxury.
Unable to hear the broadcasting commentary while in their seats, those attending events in person are instead taken on their journey, in part, by the ring announcers.
In WWE history there is, perhaps, no greater ring announcer than the iconic Howard Finkel, who boomed fans through shows during the 1980s and 1990s as Vince McMahon’s first hire in the company.
Finkel gradually wound down his epic on-screen career near the turn of the millennium – though continued in a backstage role for a number of years before his death in 2020.
Everything is a story in WWE, though, so to account for his exit and the arrival of his successor, Tony Chimel, McMahon had the two battle it out in a bizarre Tuxedo match in 1999.
Chimel won and gradually assumed the mantle but, in truth, was no new face at all – he’d been in WWE since the mid-1980s, but worked chiefly as a crew member and technician, helping set up rings and help manage talent affairs.
Filling in as a ring announcer only on occasion up until the late 1990s, Chimel went on to become something of a staple part of the Attitude Era.
He was already the lead ring announcer on Monday Night Raw before adding SmackDown to his duties and stepped up to deliver at major events including 1998’s SummerSlam in Madison Square Garden.
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He kept up that role to varying degrees and across shows including Raw, SmackDown, ECW, NXT and numerous pay-per-views across the next 15 years, developing his own trademark style along the way.
Perhaps most iconic of his announcements was that of WWE legend Edge -Chimel’s delivery of ‘The Rated-R Superstar’ becoming so popular that he was even a surprise for Edge as part of his wife Beth Pheonix’s induction into the 2017 Hall of Fame.
Chimel gradually reduced his on-screen commitments but stayed a busy and active WWE employee until his departure in 2000, with the pandemic partly to blame.
That ended a tenure with WWE, but didn’t stop his wrestling career soaring past the 40-year mark as he linked up with rival organisation All Elite Wrestling as production assistant.
The now 63-year-old also kept busy by landing a supermarket job with US outlet Trader Joe’s, a role he says shares plenty of similarities with the entertain-all style of pro wrestling.
“I figured out there is life after WWE,” he explained to Chris Van Vliet, noting his new colleagues regularly Google him and are wowed by his wrestling fame.
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“There’s a lot of similarities because at WWE they always wanted to put smiles on people’s faces and at Trader Joe’s all they want to do is wow the customer and make the customer feel happy.
“I’ve always been a big customer service guy and traveling for a living, you don’t get any of that crap from the airlines and you get crappy customer service from hotels.
“At Trader Joe’s, if you call the store they actually answer. If you’re in there and you’re looking for something, we’ll help you and we’ll walk you to where you want to go.”
The store, he says, even has a fanbase, again not unlike WWE. He added: “The customers there are like cult followers, I didn’t get it at first but now that I’ve been there for a year, I’m one of them.
“A lot of people love it, and they swear by the store. The people are great, the bosses are great, the manager is great. Everybody’s great there.”
A hugely memorable figure having spent so many decades in WWE, it’s a little sad that Chimel noted he now rarely watches wrestling.
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In the modern day, ring announcing plays as pivotal role a role in the show as it ever did, with recent stars of the role including Samantha Irvin who departed in 2024.
WWE Monday Night Raw is currently compared by Alicia Taylor, while Mark Nash does the honours on SmackDown.
