The initial #HulkVsGawk trial has wrapped up, with Hulk Hogan awarded $115 million in economic and emotional damages and over $25 million in punitive damages from Gawker Media, Nick Denton and A.J. Daulerio. It’s received a lot of very serious coverage, which is fitting considering the potential implications for both Gawker and other media outlets, but given Hogan’s status as a WWE legend, it’s also seen plenty of silly wrestling-focused coverage. For example, this Taiwanese animation from Next Animation Studio:
No, I don’t know why SpongeBob SquarePants is in the ring. Is he Hogan’s tag-team partner? Perhaps. (Update: Okay, it seems to be a reference to the woman on the tape, Heather Clem, being married to radio host Todd “Bubba The Love Sponge” Clem at the time.) Also, the cash flying out of Denton’s body as Hogan leg-drops him is quite something. In other not-so-serious trial coverage, Fox Sports Live with Jay and Dan was covering the trial nightly for the last couple of weeks with “100 per cent accurate courtroom sketches” (many of which can be seen on their Tumblr) and narration of the surprisingly-wrestling-focused events seemingly occurring during the trial. Consider this one, from Friday’s show:
https://twitter.com/foxsportslive/status/710974972273905668
And their wrap-up, from Monday’s show:
Hogan himself even got in on the action, posting a photo of himself using the Atomic Leg Drop on Gawker on Twitter after Monday’s proceedings ended:
Thank you God,I am grateful,"I AM THAT I AM". Only love HH pic.twitter.com/Y5R42C4EF7
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) March 22, 2016
The trial even made for some thoughtful essays on wrestling and kayfabe in general, such as this one from Ian Williams at Paste:
Maybe most fascinatingly, the Hogan under the cold glare of a courtroom camera reveals how kayfabe, that unwritten code of never breaking character in pro wrestling, still endures and is enmeshed in the American cultural experience.
Hogan’s defense seems to be predicated on this: Terry Bollea and Hulk Hogan are two different people. Hogan’s a character, Bollea the man underneath. Hogan is so elaborate a character than he even has a different sized penis—presumably there’s a full character dossier filled with Hogan’s character traits, physical dimensions, and favorite foods which would rival the most obsessive Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s notes.
…What Hogan is getting at is that he can switch the persona on and off at will, that the things he does or says as Hulk Hogan are not the same as the things he does or says as Terry Bollea. Which brings us to a moment of dubious truthfulness that should have been familiar to any wrestling fan who’s paid attention to Hogan’s interviews over the years.
When asked about his famous claim that he didn’t know if Andre the Giant would let him win during their famed Wrestlemania III bout, Hogan doubled down under oath that no, he didn’t know. This absolutely beggars belief. Without being privy to the backstage scene, there is no way that Vince McMahon, Andre and Hogan would have gone into the biggest match in history in front of the biggest crowd in American wrestling history without knowing the ending. That is not how pro wrestling works.
So if that’s not true, Terry Bollea might have committed perjury. Except maybe he didn’t. Maybe Hogan did. This gets to the crux of the problem with kayfabe of the old style: Hogan/Bollea doesn’t always seem to know what’s real and what’s not. Throughout his career, he’s lied effortlessly and endlessly. To hear Hogan tell it now, however, he has an out. Bollea doesn’t lie. He’s virtuous and humble. But Hogan? That Hogan is a real bad guy, vain, deceptive, loud, boastful.
So, whether you prefer serious coverage of media implications, thoughtful analysis of wrestling’s rules and their relationship to wider culture, or crazy courtroom sketches and Taiwanese animations, the #HulkvsGawk trial had something for everyone. It speaks to the larger appeal of wrestling, too, which has seen serious coverage of its events and personalities from even the likes of ESPN. Also, Hogan might be planning a WWE return, so there could be wrestling implications too! Given that an important appeal lies ahead, we probably haven’t seen the last of wrestling-focused trial coverage…
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