(FORTUNE Magazine) – World Wrestling Federation impresario Vince McMahon calls the NFL the "No Fun League," and so far everything about his WWF-style football spinoff, which debuts Feb. 3, seems Xtremely Fun. His game is a lot less restrained--cushy rules protecting the quarterback are out, and end-zone dances like the Dirty Bird (banned by the NFL) are back. He's also thrown in some sex appeal for good measure: Cheerleaders (often off-limits in the NFL) are fair game.

"I can't get too specific, but I'll guarantee you one thing," says Bruce Burke, president of Oneworld Communications, the company that designed the logos and uniforms for the league, "it's not going to be like anything you've ever seen before."

So far he's right. We got a glimpse at the XFL's look, and it certainly lives up to outrageous expectations: The teal and burnt orange of the Memphis Maniax; the fearsome visage of the San Francisco Demons. Oneworld and the XFL winnowed a list of 53 possible team names by carefully considering the characteristics of the eight host cities, according to Burke, a 12-year veteran of the NFL. Birmingham was assigned the Thunderbolts (see uniform below) because, Burke says, "thunderstorms go blasting through Birmingham, so the name did better there than in places without thunderstorms, like Las Vegas. And the alliteration, Birmingham Bolts, felt pretty good."

Curious about why the rest of the league looks as if it got dressed with the lights off? Burke deconstructs five of the team identities below.

Orlando Rage "This is rage you're feeling when you're waiting in long lines at the theme parks down there--and the fans in Orlando thought it was a cool name."

N.Y./N.J. Hitmen "We did black and blue for the Hitmen because how do you feel after the Hitmen pound on you? Black-and-blue."

Los Angeles Xtreme "It's a sickle that'll cut you in half if you don't get out of the way. Something that's sharp, something that's moving with energy."

Chicago Enforcers "That fist was one of the first logos that Vince identified. He really felt that blue-collar workers could identify with that fist because it's not pretty or ornamental. It's just a fist coming out of a C."

Las Vegas Outlaws "The Western outlaw was a good icon to work from. The color gold came from the region's history. It's one of the classier of the bunch. And frankly we think Las Vegas is a classy city."