Hulk Hogan Sex Tape: Court Battle Casts Shadow Over Hulk’s WWE Comeback Bid

Hulk Hogan won’t be able to put the controversy of his sex tape behind him just yet.

The video, released in 2012, shows Hogan in an intimate encounter with Heather Clem, the wife of his friend, radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge. Hogan claimed that Bubba set up the encounter and then released the video on his own, where it was picked up across several media outlets.

One of those, Gawker, ended up being sued by Hulk Hogan, and the legal case is still kicking around. Court documents filed late last week showed that Gawker spent $600,000 defending Hogan’s copyright infringement claim, and now the site is trying to force an insurer to pay up for those legal costs.

As The Hollywood Reporter noted, it’s a very complicated case.

“All this could be moot because as Gawker states in its latest summary judgment memorandum, the parties reached a settlement agreement before Nautilus’ lawsuit was ever brought: Gawker agreed it wouldn’t seek reimbursement of the $600,000 in previously paid defense costs as long as Nautilus would pick up the defense obligation in the Hogan case going forward. This alleged deal appears to have come around November 2013. Amazingly, there’s no mention at all of settlement in Nautilus’ own papers, though the insurer does say that months earlier, it reserved the right to litigate the coverage.

“Obviously, this insurer battle is also costing money. Gawker once wrote that the Hogan sex tape was a “g****n masterpiece.” It’s also g*****n expensive.”

While Hulk Hogan’s end of the court battle may be over, the looming legal case casts a shadow over his attempted comeback to the WWE. Hogan has reportedly been training to jump into the ring at Wrestlemania 31, SE Scoops noted:

“WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan continues to tease that he’s gearing up for a match at WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015. WWE hosted a WrestleMania 31 kickoff event on Friday night at Levi’s Stadium in California, with Hogan taking questions from the fans in attendance.

“When asked by a fan if we’ll see Hogan wrestle again, he jumped right into hype mode, stating that he’s training like he’s got a WWE title match coming up, brother.”

It still isn’t clear if Hulk Hogan would come back, or who might be available for him to face if he does.