Howard Finkel, the legendary WWE ring announcer, has died. He was 69.

WWE confirmed the news via their official website. A cause of death is not yet known at this time, but Pro Wrestling Sheet notes “the announcer had struggled with his health in recent years after suffering a stroke.”

Often billed as “The Fink,” Finkel’s tenure with the WWE dates back to 1977 when the promotion was still called the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF.)  Finkel would go on to become the WWE’s longest-serving employee of the promotion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

Many WWE superstars, past and present, took to Twitter to pay their respects to “The Fink.”

WrestleMania: 10 Interesting Facts About ‘The Showcase of the Immortals’

• WrestleMania almost wasn’t WrestleMania

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  Legendary WWE Hall of Fame ring announcer Howard Finkel is credited with coining the name “WrestleMania,” but before landing on that perfect name, Vince McMahon wanted to call his annual showcase “The Colossal Tussle.”

• WrestleMania 35 was the first WrestleMania to be headlined by women.

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  It took over three decades for women to headline “The Showcase of Immortals,” but it finally happened in WrestleMania 35 when Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey faced off in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship and the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship.

• Run-DMC provided a WrestleMania first.

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  The iconic rap group was the first act to ever perform at WrestleMania outside of the singing of the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful” when they performed “WrestleMania Rap” at WrestleMania 5. Many other acts have performed at WrestleMania since including Flo Rida, Diddy and Motorhead.
• WrestleMania 2 is the only WrestleMania to happen on a weekday.

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  Up until WrestleMania 36, which saw the event split into a two-night affair, WrestleMania 2 was the only WrestleMania to not take place on a Sunday. Instead, it took place on Monday, April 7, 1986.

• WrestleMania 28 holds the record for most PPV buys.

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  The WrestleMania that billed the "once in a lifetime" match between The Rock and John Cena saw 1,217,000 PPV buys, which is the most PPV buys for a single WrestleMania ever. Of course, that “once in a lifetime” tag wasn’t exactly true, and The Rock vs. John Cena would headline WrestleMania 29.

• “Macho Man” Randy Savage has the record for most WrestleMania wins in a single night.

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  OH, YEAH! WrestleMania 4 featured a 14-man tournament for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Savage would end up winning the title defeating Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, One Man Gang, and “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.
• Longest match in WrestleMania history.

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  The legendary iron man match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII still holds the record for longest WrestleMania match clocking in at one hour, one minute and 52 seconds.

• Shortest match in WrestleMania history.

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  The shortest WrestleMania match happened in recent history at WrestleMania 32 when The Rock squashed Erick Rowan in just six seconds.

• Most losses at WrestleMania.

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  Triple H may be one of the most prolific wrestlers in WWE history, but he also has the notorious honor of having the most losses at WrestleMania with 13. Yikes!
• Total attendance at WrestleMania.

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  Overall, a combined 1,956,981 fans have attended WrestleManias 1-38.

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