WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan's controversial legal battle in TNT show draws major overnight viewership

The latest episode for WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker in TNT's series Rich & Shameless drew over 850,000 viewers.

In 2016, Gawker published The Hulkster's (actual name Terry Bollea) s*x tape. Bollea sued Gawker, many of its employees, and affiliates for releasing sections of the audio, including racial slurs by Hogan. During that time, the jury sided with Bollea and found Gawker responsible, and he was granted almost $120 million in damages.

The episode's viewership figures have been revealed in a Showbuzz Daily report, offering audience involvement information. The show received 854,000 viewers and a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

It's worth noting that these results represent a slight drop from the previous show, which received a 0.34 demo rating and 982,000 viewers. The series came in sixth place among cable originals, practically surpassing AEW Dynamite.

However, it should be noted that the preceding episode aired on a different day and time, particularly Sunday, May 7, at 11:27 PM EST.

The show premiered at 11:47 PM, following TNT's NBA broadcast. The NBA clinched Wednesday night's Eastern Conference Finals clash between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The game received 5.945 million viewers and a 2.07 rating.

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Sam Houston shared that Vince McMahon didn't want to pay The Ultimate Warrior the same as Hulk Hogan

Former WWE star Sam Houston recently revealed why Vince McMahon would never deal with The Ultimate Warrior the same way he treated The Hulkster.

From 1985 and 1993, Hulk Hogan was the face of eight of the first nine WrestleMania events. He rose to prominence outside wrestling after playing Thunderlips in the 1982 film Rocky III.

The Ultimate Warrior, on the other hand, stormed onto WWE's main-event scene in the late 1980s before defeating Hogan at WrestleMania VI in 1990.

On the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Houston remembered how Warrior previously requested the same money as Hulk Hogan:

"I heard that he [The Ultimate Warrior] went up, and he said he wanted the same deal Hogan had, and I don't think that was ever gonna happen again. When Hogan got over as big as he did and all that, and when he left Vince and stuff, it was kinda like a shattering, you know? A smart guy is never gonna put all of his eggs in one basket."

Check out the video below:

The Ultimate Warrior notoriously threatened to skip SummerSlam 1991 unless McMahon agreed to pay him more. The WWE Executive Chairman granted the superstar's demand before punishing him following the show.

Did you watch Hulk Hogan's episode of Rich & Shameless? Sound off in the comments section below.