When wrestler-turned-reality TV star Hulk Hogan sued Gawker in 2012 for posting part of a secretly recorded sex video, it was a poor bet that the $100 million suit would go to trial. No celebrity sex tape case has ever made it to a jury, for reasons ranging from the strength of the First Amendment to stars being more interested in wiping the video from the web than winning money. But Hogan (aka Terry Bollea) hasn't settled, and on July 6, he is set to make history when a trial opens in Florida.

How the case got this far is a reflection on the parties. Gawker is run by Nick Denton, 48, whose outspoken aversion to celebrity privacy — and wars with everyone from Lena Dunham to John Travolta to Quentin Tarantino — borders on the fanatical. Hogan, 61, sees the courtroom as one more match to conquer. "I have never been afraid to fight for what I think is right," Hogan tells THR. "I promised in the beginning that I would see this through to the end to hold Gawker accountable. And I will."