About Ringside

Ringside Wrestling is a wrestling promotion owned by the Ringside, LLC and ran by John Mark Blackburn. The company began in February of 2008 and its base of operations was in Boston, Massachusetts. Ringside Wrestling aired its weekly broadcast, Tradition, on YouTube. These broadcasts were taped in local high school gymnasiums. As popularity of Ringside Wrestling began to grow, Tradition’s taping locations were moved from high school gyms to college and university arenas around the New England states.

As Ringside Wrestling began to fill the arenas of the colleges and universities of the New England states, officials knew they needed to do something to make their broadcasts and live shows more exciting for the fans. Ringside, LLC began a partnership with the Crowley Entertainment Group, a production company out of Boston. The partnership improved Ringside Wrestling’s production value and eventually led to the Ringside, LLC acquisition of the Crowley Entertainment Group.

On September 10th, Ringside Wrestling began airing Tradition to a nationwide audience on the Versus television network from the larger arenas like Madison Square Garden. Ringside Wrestling was given an opportunity to air the broadcast after Versus received high ratings from a trial broadcast entitled No Giving Up, which featured Steven Holt taking on Myles Jake in the Main Event.

Economic hardships began to fall on Ringside, LLC. Many of the top named talents began having to leave the company due to Ringside, LLC’s inability to afford the contracts the talent desired. Blackburn publically came out and expressed to the fans the situation that the company was in. Rumors of layoffs began to pop up that would include both talent and staff.

On November 3rd, 2008, it was announced that Ringside, LLC headquarters would be making a move from Boston to the new Ringside Complex on Staten Island in New York City. Ringside purchased an building almost thirty thousand square feet and turned it into an arena to seat sixty five hundred people. They also purchased a three story office tower. The Ringside Arena along with the Ringside Tower, make up the Ringside Complex.

After a couple of months of broadcasting on Versus, ratings began to drop for Tradition, and the arenas were not selling out of tickets like they were in the past, Versus finally made the decision to end the ‘season’ of Tradition on Ringside on November 19th, 2008, after Ringside Wrestling aired their super card, REVIVAL.