Coolest Homemade Ultimate Warrior Costume

My older brother was throwing a Halloween party this year, and let me tell you something – when my brother does anything, and I mean ANYTHING, he goes all out. That being considered, I knew there was going to be a lot of food, booze and a great turnout. So I thought to myself ‘Why not have an epic Halloween costume for an Epic party?’ This year, instead of being the usual cross dresser, I’ve decided to pay homage to one of the most exciting and charismatic wrestlers of our time – Yes you guessed it, the ULTIMATE WARRIOR.

Now, first things first – Being the ULTIMATE WARRIOR is not as simple as it looks. Deciding the colors, finding the right wig, and maintaining the persona is KEY to having the ultimate ULTIMATE WARRIOR costume. Without these, you’re just an 80s hair metal junky with facepaint. As a professional procrastinator, I left this all until a week before the party. And so my journey begins….

I started out “Googling” images, to decide the color schematic I wanted to use for my costume. Remember, this really determines everything – facepaint, arm tassels, trunks, knee pads, boots, etc. Once the colors are picked, you must be able to match the outfit. After cycling thru a number of photos, I found the one I want – The ALL-AMERICAN ULTIMATE WARRIOR from the 91 Royal Rumble. I knew my costume wouldn’t be exactly the same, as I did not plan it to be, but it was a great starting point. With these colors, I figured I could always be “that guy” at a 4th of July party come the following year.

On to the boots – Easy enough, typed in “Pro Wrestling Boots” on Amazon and $60.00 boots popped up. After reading reviews, I ordered the appropriate size and and color (white) and moved on.

Next came the boot tassels. These were actually “rooter pom pons” ordered from Cheerleading.com. I found the red, white, and blue and was ready to order. I was, however, a little peeved to know I could only order in sets of 10. “What am I gonna do with 8 extra pom pons?!?!” I thought to myself. However, I couldn’t be more happier. Rooter pom pons are NOT as big as I thought. It took all 10 pom pons to wrap around my boots (5 each leg). Thank God, because they came the day before the party…phew! Total cost approx $18.00.

The knee pads were purchased at Champs Sporting Goods – white. Nice and cheap – $7.00.

The arm tassels were an easy find – red, white, and blue shoe laces from the local Dollar General. I cut the ends and I was good to go. Total cost about $13.00

I stumbled upon the wrist guards accidently. I was shopping at Wal-Mart and I happened to notice beer sleeves decorated with Ol’ Glory. I bought a few of them, cut the ends and slid them on my wrist. PERFECT. Total cost $15.00.

Ever shop for boy shorts before? More enjoyable than I thought it would be. I headed to KOHLS and went right for the panty isle. I’m not a big guy, but I am aware that I don’t belong stuffing myself into a “womens size 2,” so I went for the largest size I could find. After a few awkward stares from women on my right and left, I found 3 white booty shorts to try on, along with a navey blue. Now here’s the question – Which fitting room do I use? I decided to be a gentlemen and headed across the store to the men’s area. There I tried on each pair. Boy, I never knew I had such a nice rear-end. STUNNING! One thing I did notice… regardless of the color I picked, boy shorts are SEE THRU. Definitely had to double up. And yes, I bought all the pairs I tried on. It would only be appropriate. There was also a sale going on anyway, so I lucked out. I’m sure I’ll find good use for them. Cost – approx $34.00.

Next was the art work on the shorts and knee pads. I went with the white booty shorts since it would be easiest to draw on. With help from my friend Rachel, we were able to replicate the trunks from the ALL AMERICAN ULTIMATE WARRIOR, having the small logos on the front and the WARRIOR American Flag on the rear using cloth markers. The knee pad design came from one of the action figures I saw from the Google search – Large, red logo with blue outline. Simple enough, no need to draw 10 little logos on each.

The wig was the last and probably the most important part of the costume. No ostume store had anything remotely close to his hair. I looked for hours online trying to find something similar to the Great One. Even though he has changed his color and length a number of times, It was still almost impossible to find one that matched a similar style that wasn’t black. I ‘ordered one that I wasn’t too fond with. On the day of the party I was still unsatisfied. It came up with casual conversation with my brother. He told me to try “Ernie’s Wigs” on Broadway in Newburgh (NY). I took the ride and there it was. $80.00 wig, well worth it. A little curly, but hey, curles never hurt anyone. Time to put it alllll together.

It was relatively easy to get ready, With the exception of the face paint, I was able to do everything. The knee pads were tight enough to hold the top plastic part of the pom pon boot tassels. A little uncomfortable, but good enough. I believe 2 tassels came loose the entire night., but were easily put back in place. The arm tassels were tightened by my friend Jen. My brother, although, half in the bag at that time, was able to slop some make-up on my face which he provided for me. Not his best work, but he was nice enough to take time from the beginning of the party to help me out. It would’ve taken me forever to do the face paint. I’m a little to anal. Lastly, I grease myself up with baby oil, got into character, and at that point became the ULTIMATE WARRIOR.

The costume was HUGE HIT. What made it even greater was several friends, including my brother, were wrestlers as well (see picture below). Two Macho Mans, Stone Cold, and Iron Shiek came to party. We were 25 away from a Royal Rumble. I managed to stay in costume for 98% of the night. It was, however, a 40 degree night in Hudson Valley, NY, with some of the party outside by a fire. I toughed it out, as the ULTIMATE WARRIOR would do. It wasn’t until sleepy time that I threw a white sleeveless zip up hoodie around me (as seen in the last picture below). Anyway, I hope you FEEL THE POWER OF THE WARRIOR as I did this past weekend, 11/2/2013.

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