After a terrible Wednesday, where WWE had to release a number of employees as a means to cut costs amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the world of pro-wrestling has been hit with another bad day with the passing of the legendary Howard Finkel.The former WWE ring announcer was one of the earliest employees of the company, joining them in 1975 when Vince McMahon Sr. was still the head of the promotion.Finkel’s iconic voice and unparalleled panache made him one of the best (if not the best) ring announcers of all time. In 2009, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the late “Mean” Gene Okerlund.After the news of his death broke out, several members of the pro-wrestling universe took to Twitter to pay tribute to the WWE icon.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, 2020https://t.co/PlEEKXgBpm— Adam (Edge) Copeland (@EdgeRatedR) April 16, 2020 View this post on Instagram I will miss this man. Howard Finkel was the voice @christian4peeps and I emulated when we performed our own ring introductions for our living room or side yard(depending on the weather) wrestling “shows”. I know there’s an entire generation of kids, now grizzled adults who did the same thing. He was “our voice”. When I debuted in the WWE and I heard Howard’s voice introduce Edge, I welled up. THAT’S when it became real that I’d made it. I will never forget the goosebumps I had the night on a house show at The Skydome when he said “and NEEEEEEWWWW Intercontinental Champion”. Our first tag title win at WrestleMania of all places. The voice? Howard. More importantly than all of that, he was my friend. He was a genuine, warm and compassionate man who absolutely LOVED his job. I remember standing with him nightly behind the curtain with a bunch of the boys firing him up as Welcome to the Jungle played for his ring intro music. This hurts. The Fink. The best. Ever. A post shared by Adam “Edge” Copeland (@edgeratedr) on Apr 16, 2020 at 7:59am PDTFink was not only an indelible part of my childhood but he couldn’t have been sweeter to me any time I saw him backstage. I’m grateful to have known him.— Florida Man (@WWEBigE) April 16, 2020So sad to hear of the passing of my friend, the greatest ring announcer in the biz, Howard Finkel, at the age of 69. The Hall of Famer is now ring announcing in Heaven. #RIPFinkNo one was more loyal or loved pro wrestling more than The Fink. 🙏— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) April 16, 2020And here i was thinking today was going to be a little bitter. Smh RIP to the legend #Fink 🙏🏽— Lio (@itsLioRush) April 16, 2020I’m gonna dearly miss my friend @howardfinkel. Passionate Mets & wrestling fan. An incredible soul. He’s the soundtrack to so many of our childhoods. Nobody has ever done it better. Rest In Peace Fink.— Brian Myers (@TheCurtHawkins) April 16, 2020Every wrestling fan at some point envisions themselves making an entrance at WrestleMania. I have done it almost everyday of my life, and The Fink is the only voice I hear saying my name in my head.— Tony Nese (@TonyNese) April 16, 2020The Fink was awesome. Love you and miss you, my friend. #RIPFink— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) April 16, 2020Fink, you’ll always be number 1. RIP my friend.— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) April 16, 2020Im crushedI lost my friend todayI saw him once a monthThe Voice of WrestlingI loved him so muchThe Fink pic.twitter.com/EOWmADTkjO— Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) April 16, 2020RIP Fink. The voice of my childhood... pic.twitter.com/qBKMWGm1KC— Matt Cardona (@ZackRyder) April 16, 2020It’ll always stick me with whenever The Fink would announce a title change.I don’t think anybody could ever hit that “And NEWWWWW!” as well as he could!A sad loss for the world. Rest In Peace Howard Finkel.— Ligero (@Ligero1) April 16, 2020Saddened about the passing of my friend & colleague, Howard "The Fink" Finkel. Fink was my main contact when I first starting getting myself & Jeff booked as extras in the mid 90s. Howard always took great care of us & had a soft spot in his heart The Hardy Boyz. #RIPFink pic.twitter.com/dNPTscanuR— #BROKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) April 16, 2020God Bless ya Fink. 🙏Thanks for the childhood memories.Thanks for always being on our side.Thanks for being a friend. pic.twitter.com/33UCOChwPc— Bully Ray (@bullyray5150) April 16, 2020I'm absolutely gutted over the passing of Howard Finkel. Another voice of my childhood has been silenced. Such a sweet, sweet man. I'll miss our conversations about wrestling and Rock N Roll. This ABSOLUTELY sucks. Love ya Fink! pic.twitter.com/eAX0cOktda— Brian Heffron aka The Blue Meanie (@BlueMeanieBWO) April 16, 2020Finkel had reportedly been suffering from health problems for a while now, with Jerry "The King" Lawler also revealing last year that The Fink had suffered a stroke.We at Sportskeeda express our sincere condolences to Finkel's friends and family. The Fink will forever be remembered as the voice of WWE and we pray for his soul to rest in peace.