WWE News: Hulk Hogan Blackmailed For A Million Dollars

The latest WWE news is a rather interesting one, as a Hulk Hogan blackmail story has been reported by a CBS affiliate in Tampa.

Everyone is intrigued by celebrity sex tapes. It’s only natural to be curious about how celebrities are when they are in intimate moments. It is even more fascinating when the star of the sex tape is none other than the most well known professional wrestler in the history of the planet. Hogan drew quite a bit of attention when his tape was leaked to the public.

A website known as Gawker easily spotted the financial potential in such a footage. They decided to show the public because they knew that it would generate a ton of traffic, which in turn would generate a good amount of revenue. It would also get their name out to the masses. The potential gains were so high that they were willing to risk being on the receiving end of a lawsuit from Hogan.

We know now that someone else tried to capitalize on the situation.

It has now been discovered that the Hulk Hogan sex tape was originally stolen by a man named Matthew Lloyd. The police did a thorough investigation, and all signs pointed to Lloyd, who is an employee of Bubba the Love Sponge. The woman in the Hulk Hogan sex tape was married to Bubba at the time. The two of them were very close at one point in time, but the incident obviously ended their friendship.

The Hulk Hogan blackmail was initiated by Lloyd once he got his hands on the video. He knew that he needed to find someone in the media that was willing to pay big bucks for the footage. After talking to several companies, Lloyd settled upon Gawker because they had the best deal on the table. The next step of his financial windfall was in place.

The next part of the Hulk Hogan blackmail was to try to get Hogan himself to pony up the ransom. Lloyd contacted Hogan and his lawyer. He knew that Hogan would not want to jeopardize his name value and marketing appeal by being involved in such a scandal. Unbeknownst to Lloyd, the negotiations were being taped.

Lloyd wanted a good amount of cash for the item that he stole. At first, he asked for a million dollars straight up. That was too high of a price for Hogan to swallow, so he sent his lawyer back into negotiations. Hogan countered with $400,000 instead, which Lloyd initially rejected. Lloyd ended up winning the negotiations, as the two sides agreed to “three payments equaling $300,000”.

For whatever reasons, Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober refuses to prosecute Lloyd. When asked for his reasoning, Ober stated that he did not feel that he would be able to secure a conviction. The Hulk Hogan blackmail incident will not find Lloyd sitting behind bars.

Hogan is still embroiled in litigation with Gawker over the sex tape. Another hearing is scheduled for this week. A resolution still seems far away.

The former world heavyweight champion is still trying to get his life back together. His business has been hurting due to a recent racial controversy that stemmed from that very same sex tape. Hogan has been banished from WWE. He felt that it was his home away from all of the dark things that were going on with his life. Hogan has repeatedly stated that he would like to return to that home some day.

Yet another ugly chapter in the book of Hulk Hogan.

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]