Why Hulk Hogan's defamation lawsuit against Vince Russo failed (Exclusive)

Hulk Hogan's WCW Bash at the Beach 2000 incident remains a topic of discussion 25 years later. Vince Russo, a writer for the company at the time, recently reminisced about the legal fallout after the event.

Russo cut a scathing promo about The Hulkster after the wrestling icon placed his foot over Jeff Jarrett to beat him in a 79-second match. The veteran writer has always maintained that Hogan approved the promo idea before the show. However, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer denied Vince Russo's version of the story and sued him for defamation of character.

Speaking to Sportskeeda host Mac Davis, Russo recalled how a judge dismissed the case in 2003:

"The judge says, 'Okay, let me get this straight. So Vince Russo is in a wrestling ring cutting a wrestling promo on a wrestling character, Hulk Hogan, who doesn't exist, by the way, and you're gonna sue him for defamation?' The judge threw it out. Bro, they appealed it." [From 04:39 – 05:03]

Hulk Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, passed away on July 24 at the age of 71. Watch the video above to hear Russo explain why Eric Bischoff joined TNA alongside Hogan.

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Vince Russo on Hulk Hogan's lawsuit appeal

After the first judge viewed Vince Russo's promo as nothing more than a wrestling angle, Hulk Hogan appealed the decision. The second judge came to the same conclusion as the first, ruling that Russo was speaking as a television character.

Despite their legal battle, Hogan and Russo got along well when they worked together again in TNA almost a decade later.

"It goes to a second judge, so the second judge says, 'All right, let me get this straight. You're on a wrestling show, right? You're in a wrestling ring, right? Vince is cutting a wrestling promo on a fictional character, right?'" Russo continued. "The second judge throws it out, and that was the end of the road. But I always say this, when I saw him after that, Mac, he made it very, very, very easy on me. We had that conversation, and we talked things out. They didn't yell and scream at me or anything like that. It was very, very cool." [From 05:05 – 05:47]

In the same episode, Russo addressed one "huge mistake" that TNA's higher-ups made with Hogan's contract.

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