WCW and its logos

[berlinbrawler]

What is your (least) favorite WCW logo?

Having a background in graphic (&) design I'm one of those people who pay way too much attention to details like championship belts, ring attires, stage designs and, especially, logos. For example, when the WWF changed to WWE and all they did was "get the F out", to my eye all they did was mutilate the really cool existing WWF logo and left it crippled. It's something that bothered me for a long time (I eventually got used it, kinda like amputees eventually adapt to their new circumstances).

That being said, I recently stumbled upon the WCW logo that was used during the ill-fated invasion angle:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2a/WCW_Logo.png

I had completely forgotten that they had used a different logo than from when WCW was actually still in business, and what a boring and uninspired one at that. For a second I wondered why they would do such a stupid thing. Why further estrange the brand from what it used to be when its current incarnation was already barely recognizable (most WCW keyplayers were absent, Stone Cold and Shane McMahon were the headfigures - wtf? But let's not get into that…)? But then I remembered what the WCW logo looked like in the last couple of years of the company's existence:

http://fanart.tv/fanart/tv/76962/hdtvlogo/wcw-monday-nitro-511036ce11fbb.png

Now THAT's a terrible logo. In my mind a perfect example of how the whole AOL Time Warner corporate structure was damaging to the WCW brand. This is what happens when a bunch of suits who are not familiar with the product at all pay an ad agency to create a new logo they can describe with meaningless terms such as "edgy" or "hip." A 50+ year old's idea of what the 18-30 demographic would consider cool. I always considered that logo practically invisible. It's a mess. You can barely make out the letters WCW. It looks like the letters once used to be there but then it got run over by a truck. No presence. No recognition value. Nothing iconic about it whatsoever. A generic, utterly forgettable logo.
Whereas before:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Wcw.jpg

That's what a logo is supposed to look like! I'm not saying Paul Rand himself would have been proud to have designed it - it's not a masterpiece by any stretch - but it has instant recognition value. It's bold, yet simple. It has presence. It's iconic. It's everything that its successor is not. Why ever move away from that? And why didn't the WWE use that logo during the invasion (I suppose there could be legal issues there)?

At any rate that's my opinion on the WCW logos. Like I said a minor detail, but the kind of detail geeks like myself obsess over. What do you guys think? Am I the only one who absolutely hated the 1998-2001 WCW logo?

 

[BarryHorowitzfanclub]

No, you're not the only one. The last "true" WCW logo was just a mess. And yes, completely unrecognizable. The WWE version of the WCW logo must have been some cruel joke, and totally didn't make sense. If you're trying to separate the brand, and have it be an invasion, why make up a totally new logo. And why make the logo look like it could have been a He-Man Action figure?

I like the classic look. But, I like the older yellow and blue logo more.

http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/ep_trending/public/section/thumb/2011/03/wcw.jpg

 

[rokuma]

When I think of the WCW logo, I see the classic "WCW" logo in red for the 1995-1999 era: http://johnsontranscriptdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/wcwlogo.png

I kind of liked the WWE's version, but you're right...it doesn't make sense to completely alienate the brand from fans who probably followed to the bitter end. The 2000 "space logo" was a complete disaster. What were they thinking?!

 

[Magic Mark]

I loved the explosions and fire that they had on Nitro back in the 90's, but when they went more basic with the blue logo, it turned me off. The best logo, which Rokuma stated, was the red one that they used from 1995-1999, When WCW was at its peak. IT was bold yet simple.

 

[Airehk]

As a fellow graphic designer, I do have to say that the old logo and all of its variants were the most solid. Sure it didn't say or mean anything and of course it felt like it was produced on the fly just for the sake of making it an official business for Ted Turner — the logo had integrity that could say anything it needed to provided that WCW told the story. After that, everything with looking at the logo followed.

I mean look at it, you think of surfer Sting, Ric Flair, Davey Boy Smith and the Steiners. The logo turned into what it should have represented.

Then they made the colossal mess of what looked like a crushed pop can. As a kid in the late 90's, I didn't even know what it was. I thought it was some nifty part of their entrance ramp or something. Not until years later did I notice it was wCw. I thin back on it and wonder, what were they trying to communicate? You have some obscure shape that might as well be a flattened star that looked like jagged metal. I can see they were trying to look tough and dangerous, but it didn't say anything about the product.

As for the final red logo, I feel there was simply copyright issues with the old logo or something. Or perhaps the folks at WWE simply thought it was ugly and got their hands all over it. And let's face it, WWE either has a lousy design team or there is a director who is too focused on marketing without keeping memorable aesthetics in mind. Everything WWE produces as identities now look like energy drinks or chocolate bars. Since they clearly didn't plan on having any long term investment in the WCW brand anymore, they just mocked up a symbol that looks like it would be found on the back of a heel's tights.

WWE's logo now isn't even all that remarkable. It feels dated with the 90's scratched metal look that is still living in the Limp Bizkit days. Sure it holds equity, but the applications look childish, unrefined and not to be taken seriously. Almost like you are trying to have a smart conversation about social issues in the world with a 14 year old pot head, the design from wrestling should just be looked at for fun without any real thinking. It simply looks "cool".

Wrestling in general doesn't have any good design, which in turn reflects the corny, lowbrow entertainment it produces. With that said, I'm generally fine with it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I always preferred the classic WCW logo. It just felt right. Sometimes, simplicity really is the best way to go with things.

The logo WCW began using late in its life was awful in my opinion. I remember the first time I saw it, I thought of how much it put me in mind, somewhat, of Goldberg's tribal tattoo. The more I look at it, the more it really does look like it's design was inspired by tribal tattoo art.

The logo used during the Invasion angle, while not great, was infinitely preferable to the tribal thing, or whatever the frig it was supposed to be. I would have liked it much more without the little spikes sticking out and if the letters were all the same size.

 

[ComeOnVince]

My least favorite is the most iconic.

The classic logo looked dated & out of context. It is iconic. It does conjure up memories of surfer sting, ric flair, etc.

I'm in the clear minority, but I loved the spaceship logo. It wasn't beautiful, but it was new. it was something different. They were trying to update it, but it wound up being kind of a visual cluster. I think if WCW had gone to this logo around the time of the nWo's inception, it would be better remembered.

 

[RicSpade]

I think their worst WCW logo was they one I like to refer as the artist formally known as WCW, because at the time of the 2nd logos existence at the #1 post spot on here, Vince Russo was brought in, there were some stupid gimmicky shit going on, and half the time I couldn't bear to stomach watching WCW because it was getting staler than 2 week old bread.

I personally think the design I liked most for the WCW logo was during the NWO era when the logos were WCW/NWO presents, they usually made the logo White on black for WCW and NWO in a spray paint white, while many may argue that those don't count as real WCW logos if you're incorporating them as two seperate brands I think it counts as a legitimate logo.

 

[oldschool123]

From WCW's golden years. To me it embodies what WCW was before it was taken over by greedy people and morons.

 

[HBsam31]

I gotta go with the classic logo too. It is the one I think of when I think of WCW. I like all of the oldschool WWE logos as well. Not sure what WCW was thinking with the newer logos, but for me the classic is the best.