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The original Roast Battle is a live show in Los Angeles, CA that is part stand-up comedy and part rap battle. The show was established at the West Hollywood, Los Angeles comedy club, The Comedy Store in 2013 as an alternative to a physical altercation between two comedians. Original and current host of the show, comedian Brian Moses, convinced local comics Josh Martin and Kenny Lion to trash-talk each other on stage in stead of fist-fighting in front of the club. Comedic instigator Terrell "Rell" Battle proclaimed himself the judge, and the show was born. Roast Battle has been running weekly in the "Belly Room" of The Comedy Store every since.

Soon after the show's creation, insult comic, Jeff Ross was invited on as a guest judge, and then as the official "roast advisor", offering the sparring comedians both words of encouragement and disparagement between each of the show's three rounds.

The format (and even logo) for Roast Battle has been duplicated in numerous U.S. cities since it's inception. The Los Angeles show claims creatorship of the format, but does not claim ownership.

Show format
The show currently operates with two different format models, "Undercard" matches and "Main events".

The undercards are for roasters who are new to the scene or new to the show. They run only one round, in a "tit-for-tat" format where each roaster tells one joke about the other, back and forth, until the end of a 60 second round. At the end of an undercard match, the audience chooses the winner based on volume of applause. In the event of an approximate tie, the host will defer to a celebrity guest to make the decision on the match, or will declare an additional round is necessary.

For main event battles, the roasters are typically veterans of the show, or at least veterans of insult comedy. There are (at least) three rounds in a main event. The first is a 60 second "tit-for-tat" round, where the two battlers take turns roasting their opponent, one joke at a time, back and forth, until the bell is rung for that round. The choice on which comic tells the first joke is on a volunteer basis. After the round, the celebrity guest panel of judges then weighs in with their opinions on the round, and typically some insult comedy of their own, culminating with their vote for who won the round. Best of the three votes wins the round. The second round is run as a monologue, with each roaster given a full 30 seconds a piece to tell as many jokes about their opponent as they can, or as they see fit. Again, the celebrity judging panel then gives their input, and votes on the round. The third round of the battle is inevitable because, even if one comic wins both of the first two rounds, the third round is valued with "double points", so a fourth round can be granted with a come-from-behind victory. The third round has gone through a number of variations since the show began but, currently, Round 3 defaults back to the tit-for-tat format. After the third round, the judges again vote on the winner. In the event that a comic comes from behind after being down 2-0, a fourth round is granted. The format for the fourth round is typically up for debate and creativity. In roast battles past, the bonus round has been just one single roast joke from each comic, a full tit-for-tat or monologue round, or even roasting a celebrity guest, such as Too Short.

At the end of every match, regardless of winner or show format, the winner is announced, and their hand raised in victory. And the two roasters always hug on stage. Final comments, jokes and upcoming appearances are offered from the hosts and celebrity guests as the stage is cleared.

Recurring characters
Roast Battle incorporates a number of recurring performers and groups as a supplemental form of comedy and exposition alongside the actual show.

Each week, a new cast of celebrity judges appears in the balcony section of the Belly Room, seeing many repeat judges such as Sarah Silverman, Stephen Rannazzisi, John Mayer, Dave Chapelle, and of course Comedy Central's Roastmaster General, Jeff Ross as the official "Roast Advisor".

There is also a table of two insult comics sitting across the room, stage-side, beneath a sign that reads "Haters Only". The sections has been formerly labeled "House Racist" and even "Whites Only", and is typically occupied by comedian Earl Skakel and one other. The job of the haters is to add "color" commentary between each round and each battle, typically focusing on the ethnic background of the roasters and celebrity guest judges, but not exclusively.

Also, beneath the judges box, there is a "wave" of comedians ready and eager to rush the stage when a huge joke hits, or a terrible joke bombs. Most often, this group of comics is referred to as "The All-Negro Wave", as an opposing force to Skakel's "House Racist". The All-Negro Wave consists of a number of rotating comedians, but some frequent performers include Jamar Neighbors, Willy Hunter, and Jeramiah Watkins. There have also been other racially specific incarnations of the wave, such as "The All-Terrorist Wave" with Iranian comedian Hormoz Rashidi, and "The All-Mexican Wave" with former Roast Battle reigning champion, Frank Castillo.

The first main event battle of the night typically follows a lip sync / stand-up hybrid performance by Comedy Store regular Boon Shakalaka, and some "Ba-ttle! Ba-ttle!" chanting lead by Roast Battle regular Joshua Meyrowitz.

Other recurring acts include musical comedy from Jeff Richards and/or Pat Regan.

Official shows outside of Los Angeles
The Roast Battle format has been unofficially duplicated in cities outside of Los Angeles, CA, such as New Orleans, and Vancouver, but there have also been a few official Roast Battle shows in other cities.

Roast Battle traveled South in July 2014 to the La Jolla Comedy Store. And was also put up at the NYC Comedy Festival in November 2014. The show was part of the official South by Southwest schedule in 2015. And beginning July 10, 2015, Roast Battle has a new official second home, at the New York Comedy Club in Manhattan.