Author: Winter Park, Florida. Summer, 1996. While the eyes of the world were fixed on Atlanta’s Olympic Games, a different kind of history was quietly taking shape a few hours south. Inside the bustling backlots of Disney-MGM Studios, a young artist named Jenni Sloan was about to leave a mark on professional wrestling that would outlast any gold medal.
She wasn’t a wrestler, a booker, or even a fan. But in just sixty minutes, armed with little more than a stack of floppy disks and a vague brief, Sloan would create the logo that defined an era, fueled a billion-dollar brand, and became the calling card for wrestling’s most infamous faction: the New World Order.
What began as a simple, low-budget assignment would become one of the most recognizable symbols in sports entertainment history. Yet for decades, the real story behind the nWo’s rebellious black-and-white emblem—and the woman who designed it—remained hidden in the shadows… until now, with this exclusive excerpt from Beyond Nitro: Untold Stories from the WCW Era by Guy Evans (available now).
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The Hour That Changed Wrestling History: How Disney Artist Created the Iconic nWo Logo for Nothing
In the pantheon of professional wrestling imagery, few symbols carry the instant recognition and cultural impact of the nWo logo. That distinctive, jagged typeface with its rebellious lowercase ‘n’ and capitalized ‘W’ and ‘o’ became synonymous with wrestling’s most influential storyline of the 1990s, helping propel WCW to unprecedented heights during the Monday Night Wars.
The logo appeared on everything from t-shirts to spray paint cans, becoming a billion-dollar brand identifier that wrestling fans worldwide could spot from across an arena. Yet behind this iconic design lies an untold story of creative brilliance under pressure, corporate penny-pinching, and one of the entertainment industry’s most stark examples of undercompensated genius.
The Unlikely Genesis of Wrestling’s Most Recognizable Brand
The summer of 1996 marked a pivotal moment in professional wrestling history, as World Championship Wrestling found itself juggling the logistical nightmare of the Atlanta Olympics while simultaneously launching what would become the industry’s most influential storyline. With post-production resources stretched thin in Atlanta, WCW turned to an unlikely ally: Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. This partnership, while strategically sound on paper, would inadvertently place the creation of wrestling’s most iconic visual identity in the hands of a young artist who had never watched a wrestling match in her life.
Jenni Sloan, a native of Winter Park, Florida, had carved out her niche as one of the few female flame operators in the country, working her way up to Art Director at Disney’s elite post-production facility. Her background in fine arts, combined with early expertise in computer graphics during an era when such skills were rare and highly specialized, positioned her perfectly for the challenge that awaited. However, nothing in her experience with Coca-Cola campaigns or episodic television could have prepared her for the creative pressure cooker she was about to enter.
The circumstances surrounding the logo’s creation reveal the stark realities of corporate cost-cutting during one of wrestling’s most profitable periods. WCW’s budget constraints meant that Sloan would have exactly one hour to conceptualize, design, and deliver what would become one of entertainment’s most valuable brand identities. The parameters were minimal: black and white only, typewritten face, rough edges, and an overall aesthetic that conveyed rebellion and street credibility.
Beyond Nitro: The Book That Uncovers WCW’s Hidden Histories
Before diving into Sloan’s story, a quick spotlight on the source: This is a never-before-published account, shared here exclusively with permission from Beyond Nitro: Untold Stories from the WCW Era by Guy Evans, released April 29, 2025.
Evans, whose previous work inspired VICE TV’s Who Killed WCW, uncovers long-buried stories like Sloan’s role in wrestling history, Dusty Rhodes’ swamp buggy racing days, and the CIA’s unlikely connections to the squared circle.
The following passages are the first public comments from the designer of the iconic nWo logo, taken directly from “Beyond Nitro: Untold Stories from the WCW Era” by Guy Evans. Orders and further information available at GuyEvansBooks.com or Amazon.
The Creation of the nWo Logo: “All In An Hour’s Work”
A native of Winter Park, Florida – the charming city of ‘Old World’ repute, home to some 30,000 residents north of Orlando – Jenni Sloan developed her artistic abilities from an early age. "I trained in fine arts my whole life," she begins, in this – her first-ever published interview – "and my dad – knowing that I wanted to utilize my art as a career – really made an impact on me. He said to me at one point, ‘Okay, if you want to use your art…you need to learn a trade.’
Sloan started her career journey during the relative infancy of modern, computerized graphic design. "Today, you have Full Sail University which trains people in post-production [for instance]," she says, "but this was way prior to that…my high school graduation was in ‘87. Back then, the University of South Carolina had one of the first computer labs, and that’s where I picked up the skills of Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I really liked the idea of where things were going with graphic design on computers, and during my junior year, I had the opportunity to get an internship at Channel 9 – the local ABC affiliate – where I did some ‘over the shoulder’ graphics that were used on the news. I kind of parlayed that into working at some of the other news stations, but once I got out of school, I decided to move back to [Central Florida].
"Once I was home, I talked my way into an internship at Century III at Universal [Studios – the exclusive vendor of post-production services on the lot]. They ended up offering me a job, and I worked my way up to become Art Director – running equipment which very few people had access to – although now, you could do that stuff on your phone!"
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When Disney Met WCW: An Unlikely Alliance
Subsequently, Sloan says, her diligence was rewarded further with a job opportunity at Disney i.d.e.a.s., an elite post-production facility located on the backlots of the Disney-MGM Studios (now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios).
"All manner of…visual effects are possible at the facility," reported a contemporaneous article in the Orlando Sentinel. "The acronym stands for imagery, design, editorial, art and sound…Disney-MGM is [now] emphasizing its expanded capabilities in graphics and visual effects."
During her time at Disney – and in addition to becoming one of the few female flame operators in the country – Sloan developed ad campaigns for brands such as Presidente, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser.
"We also did special effects for anything on the back lots," she adds. "We did a lot of the episodic television series that were filmed there…and that’s sort of how things happened – in terms of wrestling being filmed there, too."
Indeed, by the summer of 1996 – less than six months into Sloan’s new role – Disney-MGM was hosting live episodes of WCW Monday Nitro, a consequence of the ongoing logistical juggling act caused by the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
At first, the alliance between Mickey Mouse and wrestling (officially christened on July 7, 1993, when the park began hosting tapings of WCW’s syndicated programming) may have been perceived as somewhat ill-fitting, but in time, the benefits of the co-branding effort became more obvious.
As the Nitro era began, the association received specific attention in a strategic planning document of the time.
"During the last two years," read the note, presented as part of a corporate exercise detailing WCW’s future plans, "WCW has established a mutually beneficial agreement with Disney World in Orlando.
WCW Worldwide and portions of WCW Pro are produced at the Disney-MGM Studios. A more permanent arrangement offers [a number of] advantages."
Under the recommendation, ‘Explore Deeper Strategic Alliance with the Disney Organization’, the document highlighted the merits of the partnership to WCW:
- Post Production strength and availability will be limited in Atlanta during 1996 because of the Olympics. Resources are readily available at Disney.
- An action based daily attraction at a major entertainment park complements our programming. 80% of people who view production in progress at a studio become viewers.
- Disney legitimizes our product. Database development and research opportunities become more significant. Potential savings from Disney production, post production, and theme park participation can yield net savings up to $500,000 per year.
- SUMMARY: A move to the Disney/ MGM Studios for post production strength offers a major strategic advantage as WCW moves to close the perceived gap in production quality.
The Birth of a Rebellion: Crafting the nWo Logo
Ironically, however, no amount of strategic planning could have predicted what happened next. "One of the things that I loved to do – at that time – was logo development," reveals Sloan. "I really liked to dive into who a company was, what they were about…kind of problem solve, [in my head], the best way to do a logo.
"So I remember being called into a meeting and being told that we would be working with WCW," she continues. "I was really not familiar with it – I didn’t follow wrestling personally – [although] my younger brother watched some of it way back in the day…with Hulk Hogan and all those guys. So that resonated with me…[plus] the fact that there was this sort of ‘breakaway group’ [with the New World Order]."
Although in its infancy, the New World Order storyline, sparked by a group of invading wrestlers (many of whom, at least initially, possessed strong associations to WCW’s real-life competitor, the WWF) was already setting the industry ablaze.
With a number of favorable preconditions acting as catalysts for the plot (including the long-held ambition of wrestling fans to witness ‘dream matches’ involving WCW and WWF talent, the decision to leverage Hulk Hogan’s equity as the ultimate ‘good guy’ in the direction of a shocking heel turn, and the fortuitous expiration of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall’s WWF contracts), Nitro featured the villainous group terrorizing WCW’s stars on a weekly basis, often in the manner of a street gang.
"I actually brought in the spray paint idea…kinda going off how gangs would tag their territory."
– Neal Pruitt, former feature producer for World Championship Wrestling
Without warning, what had first been conceived as a "six-month program" (as per the contemporaneous comments of Eric Bischoff, WCW’s then-Executive Vice President) quickly evolved to become the overarching narrative informing every WCW broadcast.
In one early Nitro episode, for example, the phrase ‘New World Order’ was uttered by various WCW/nWo characters over 60 times. So ubiquitous were the invaders, in fact, that together, they appeared to comprise more than just a wrestling group, or stable in industry vernacular. On the contrary, the purpose of the New World Order, it appeared, was to form an entirely new organization – one that threatened, in kayfabe, the very existence of WCW itself.
"We originally figured the [New World Order] would be a six-month program."
– Eric Bischoff, as quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, 6/15/97
Sixty Minutes to Immortality: Sloan’s Creative Sprint
Quite naturally, the formation of this new organization or brand – as per Bischoff’s behind-the-scenes vision for the group – precipitated the need for a brand identity. Clearly, the unsanctioned group of wrestlers had to differentiate themselves from their WCW counterparts; however, in the aftermath of Bash at the Beach ‘96, a key element in the effort was missing.
Enter Jenni Sloan.
"I remember the day well," she says. "Tony and Amy in our scheduling department would often tell me in the morning who would be coming in, what I would be doing…that kind of thing.
"[On this particular day], they mentioned that WCW was asking for something on a ‘shoestring budget’. They said, ‘They can’t afford much…only an hour of time – that’s all they’re going to pay for.’ [Evidently], they couldn’t afford some of the more expensive equipment in my suite.
"I thought, ‘Great. This is not how I want to do things…but…alright.’
"They said to me, ‘This is going to have to be mass generated…but you’re going to have to do this logo in black-and-white.’
"I thought, ‘Alright. Well…I’ll figure it out…’"
"I only had an hour to do the whole thing."
As the basis for her remarkable creativity, Sloan recalls receiving little in the way of specific details. "I remember just being given the direction of, ‘We want it in a type-written face’," she says.
"They said, ‘We want it to be rough…something with ‘ragged edges’…and I mean…that’s sort of all I had to go on. I don’t recall being shown anything else, except maybe some rough designs…[and those] weren’t based on anything else [really].
"I think it’s the quickest logo I’ve ever done in my life! It was really just down-and-dirty, super quick. There was a version that I did first, but [WCW producer] Rob Wright and [another WCW staffer] were like, ‘Uh-uh. It’s gotta be rougher.’ I specifically remember that.
"They asked me to make it even more rough – really jagged – so I remember going in and hand-drawing some of the edges."
In a particular masterstroke, Sloan then decided to stylize the group’s initials – N.W.O. – using a format that would become as famous as the group itself: nWo.
"I don’t remember the reason for that," she shrugs, in reference to her creative decision, "other than I thought it looked cool!
"In my head, when they were telling me what they wanted, I was thinking, ‘Okay, ‘80s…‘90s…’, I was thinking of going out in high school…when I was really attracted to things like new age…punk…things like that.
"I was thinking of like a Sid and Nancy type of [feeling]. In my mind, that’s how things were translating to me when they were explaining the concept.
"The reaction I got was like, ‘Cool – thanks. That was great.’
"It wasn’t like, ‘Woah – this is going to be amazing!’
nWo Facts: Did You Know?
- As the nWo often sauntered to the ring, a menacing, low-pitched voice would utter the group’s initials: ‘n…W…o!’ The audio clip was, in fact, derived from a recording of Eric Bischoff’s voice, heavily transposed down in editing.
- Early versions of the nWo graphics were created using a primitive version of Photoshop, 120MB of hard disk space, and “a stack of floppy disks,” according to former WCW editor Kemper Rogers.
- The nWo theme music, labeled as ‘FCD 115, Track 14’ in the Turner Production Music Library (and officially titled ‘Rockhouse’ by Frank Shelley), was in fact an amalgamation of five Jimi Hendrix records: ‘Highway Chile’, ‘Purple Haze’, ‘Hey Joe’, ‘Stone Free’ and ‘The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice’.
From Ancient Greece to Nike: How a $15 Billion Lesson Was Ignored
Taken from the Ancient Greek word logotype, the mass proliferation of logos have come to be viewed as essential tools in marketing. Almost without exception, many of the world’s most famous logos – Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Apple and the like – are widely considered as being synonymous with the associated brands themselves.
In that sense, an appropriate investment in graphic design can clearly pay off, as it has – to enormous effect – in several notable instances.
The value of Nike’s inescapable ‘Swoosh’ logo, for example (which in concert with its ‘Just Do It’ tagline, comprises the core of its brand identity) has been estimated at around $15 billion. The design of the ‘Swoosh’, incidentally, is credited as being the brainchild of Carolyn Davidson, then only a student (in 1971) at Portland State University. Famously, Davidson was said to have charged the upstart company – then known as ‘Blue Ribbon Sports’ – a total of $35 as compensation for the logo, the equivalent of around $275 today. "I don’t love it," Nike co-founder Phil Knight is reported to have said of the design, "but maybe it’ll grow on me."
(At a company ceremony in 1983, Davidson was subsequently presented with a ‘golden swoosh’ and 500 shares of Nike stock, which after a number of stock splits, currently exceeds four million dollars in value).
In the world of professional wrestling, there is perhaps no imagery as iconic as the nWo logo. Nonetheless, Sloan reports receiving "nothing" in additional compensation for designing it – a typical arrangement, she highlights, relative to her status as a salaried employee. "I got zero," she says, matter-of-factly. "I think I have a T-shirt in the back of my closet…but it was just normal salary compensation [via] Disney-MGM.
"Obviously, if I had done this as a freelancer, it would have been a totally different thing…but [WCW] paid MGM an hourly fee…and I didn’t get a piece of that at all.
"It would have been nice though!"
Pro Wrestling Stories extends its gratitude to Guy Evans for sharing the above excerpt from Beyond Nitro: Untold Stories from the WCW Era (available now). For more revelations about wrestling’s most iconic moments – including never-before-seen WCW documents and interviews – order your copy now at GuyEvansBooks.com or on Amazon.
Legacy of the Logo: A Billion-Dollar Oversight
The story of the nWo logo’s creation is a fascinating case study in how creative brilliance can emerge from the most constrained circumstances, while simultaneously highlighting the entertainment industry’s complex relationship with compensating creative contributors. Jenni Sloan’s hour of work at Disney-MGM Studios produced one of the most recognizable and valuable brand identities in sports entertainment history, yet she remained largely uncredited and uncompensated for this achievement until now.
Years after designing the logo, Sloan’s quiet legacy even intersected with wrestling’s modern era in a moment of surreal serendipity. After this article went live, professional wrestler Marty Scurll reached out to us on Instagram to share an unforgettable encounter he had with Sloan:
"She is a real estate agent who showed me around a house in Orlando, whilst I was wearing an nWo tank. She told me she designed the logo and told me this very story. She knew very little about it and kept referring to it as the ‘NW’ logo (rather than nWo). At first, I thought this is a little odd. But then she explained to me how she worked for Disney, and it all made sense.”
Scurll later added, “I tried to explain to her how HUGE the logo is and how it’s still sold in the masses to this day, and I felt like she thought I was over exaggerating or something. I think I even told her, ‘You should be a multi-millionaire for this logo!’ and she just kind of shrugged it off like it was no biggy. Funny to see this being covered all these years later!"
Scurll’s anecdote underscores the disconnect between Sloan’s modest self-perception and the logo’s cultural immortality. Even decades later, its creator seemed unaware of its billion-dollar resonance.
The story of the nWo logo proves that sometimes the most iconic designs emerge not from massive budgets and extensive research, but from talented individuals working under pressure with minimal resources and maximum creative freedom.
In just one hour, Jenni Sloan created something that would outlast wrestling booms and busts, remaining instantly recognizable to fans across multiple generations and a permanent reminder of one of the industry’s most influential periods.
These stories may also interest you:
- Chris Benoit’s Hidden Life: A Downfall Some Saw Coming
- Hulk Hogan’s Heel Turn and the Fan Who Tried to Attack
- Arn Anderson on the nWo Spoof That Hurt His Family
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"Evan Ginzburg’s stories are a love letter to wrestling, filled with heart, humor, and history. A must-read for any true fan." — Keith Elliot Greenberg
Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets is the latest book from Pro Wrestling Stories Senior Editor Evan Ginzburg. 100 unforgettable stories—from sharing a flight on 9/11 with a WWE Hall of Famer to untold moments in wrestling history. A page-turner for fans of the ring and beyond. Grab your copy today! For signed editions, click here.
"Evan Ginzburg’s stories are a love letter to wrestling, filled with heart, humor, and history. A must-read for any true fan." — Keith Elliot Greenberg
Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets is the latest book from Pro Wrestling Stories Senior Editor Evan Ginzburg. 100 unforgettable stories—from sharing a flight on 9/11 with a WWE Hall of Famer to untold moments in wrestling history. A page-turner for fans of the ring and beyond. Grab your copy today! For signed editions, click here.
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