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Hulk Hogan – one of the WWE's best-known wrestlers – had his contract terminated after transcripts of him using racist language were published. Getty

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chief who severed links with Hulk Hogan after a transcript of a racist rant came to light also used the n-word, in a TV skit with a black wrestler.

WWE billionaire CEO and chairman Vince McMahon uttered the abusive term while talking to wrestler John Cena during a 2005 TV show in front of fellow wrestler Booker T Huffman Jr. The clip has been uploaded to YouTube.

McMahon asks Cena "What's good in the 'hood?". As McMahon walks away he says, "Keep it up, my n****r!"

Huffman then turns to a WWE hostess and says: "Tell me he didn't just say that?"

A WWE spokesperson told the New York Daily News that McMahon's remarks were merely part of a TV comedy routine.

She said: "Surely everyone would recognize the 2005 segment was an outlandish and satirical skit involving fictional characters, similar to that of many scripted TV shows and movies."

The video resurfaced after Hogan, 61, resigned from WWE following an acknowledgement that he made racist comments of his own in a recording that emerged during a legal battle.

Material from a transcript of the recording was reported by Radar Online and the National Enquirer. It is alleged to contain a series of racist remarks by Hogan to Heather Clem, the wife of a friend with whom he was filmed having sex in 2012.

He allegedly used the phrase "f******g n*****s" several times after he learnt that his daughter Brooke was dating an African-American man.

Hogan's real name Terry Bollea. He is soon to go to trial in a $100m lawsuit against Gawker Media, which posted the sex video of him with Clem online.

Hogan's departure from WWE is having a severe financial impact on the company with its share price dropping sharply. Although Hogan no longer performed in the ring, he remained a key ambassador for the WWE brand, with heavy involvement in promoting its events.

On 24 July, WWE shares fell nearly 4%, to $16.60, wiping around $50m from the value of the company. After Hogan apologized for his remarks the shares fell further in after-hours trading, to $16.00.

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