Search

22 Oct 2025

Wrestling superstar Ted DiBiase visits Kilkenny, lets mayor keep chain of office but not Million Dollar Belt

'He took a shine to the mayor's chain as he thought it would go well with his Million Dollar Belt so we almost had a scuffle over that, but thankfully he let me keep the chain,' jokes Mayor Andrew McGuinness

Kilkenny

Mayor of Kilkenny Andrew McGuinness with wrestling Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase

Reporter:

Kilkenny People

11 Oct 2024 11:41 AM

Email:

sam.matthews@kilkennypeople.ie

Pro Wrestling Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase, aka The Million Dollar Man, made a surprise visit to Kilkenny yesterday (Thursday) where he was treated to a whistlestop tour of the city by Mayor Andrew McGuinness.
Carrying the famous Million Dollar Belt, the WWE star visited Kilkenny Castle and the Smithwick's Experience before enjoying a night out in the Marble City along with his beautiful wife Melanie and his friend Alan Kehoe from Waterford.
DiBiase achieved many accolades in the WWF/E over a long career at the highest level. He was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champion, a three-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Irwin R Schyster), a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion, and winner of the 1988 King of the Ring tournament. 
He headlined multiple WWF cards, including WrestleMania IV and the first-ever SummerSlam in 1988. DiBiase is a member of several professional wrestling halls of fame: he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame upon its inception in 1996, and headlined the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
Speaking of the surprise visit, Mayor Andrew McGuinness said it was an honour to host Ted in Kilkenny: "It was quite surreal to spend time with him considering he would have entertained myself and people of my generation when we were children," he said.
"He was a huge star in the greatest era of wrestling but yet he is very humble, kind and a pleasure to be around. His wife Melanie is also a lovely person and they both loved Kilkenny and now they have great stories of our city to take home to America. Im sure they will come here again."
"Of course, being the Million Dollar Man, he took a shine to the Mayor's chain as he thought it would go well with his Million Dollar Belt so we almost had a scuffle over that, but thankfully he let me keep the chain," joked the Mayor. 
"Any visit like this is great for Kilkenny and for spreading the positive message of how Kilkenny is a fantastic place to visit and to spend time in. We definitely left a good impression on him and he was kind enough to give everyone time and take photos with people he met in the Smithwick's Experience and Kilkenny Castle. The staff in both attractions were very kind to him and made sure he saw the best of Kilkenny." 

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2025 Iconic Media