Skip to main content
Join

Netflix releases trailer for Joey Chestnut vs. Takeru Kobayashi rematch: ‘Unfinished Beef’

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•08/13/24•

brianjones_93

joey chestnut wins
(Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi will battle each other in a made-for-TV contest next month. On Tuesday, Netflix announced the two legendary competitive eaters will go head-to-head in a live event on the streaming service on Sept. 2 at 3 p.m. ET. Netflix also released the trailer for the event which is called Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef.

This will be the first time in 15 years that Chestnut and Kobayashi will battle each other in a competitive eating contest. The competition will take place at the HayperX Arena in Las Vegas, located at the Luxury Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Chestnut is a 16-time hot dog-eating champion, and Kobayashi has claimed the title six times.

“Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival,” Chestnut said to Netflix. “Competing against him pushed me to be so much better. I know that fans have waited a long time for another chapter of our rivalry and I can’t wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix! It’s time to give the people what they want!”

Chestnut is ranked No. 1 in the world by Major League Eating. He began his run in 2007 when he took down reigning champion Kobayashi by eating 66 hot dogs in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. He went on to win eight consecutive titles before losing to Matt Stonie in 2015. Chestnut would win another eight consecutive titles, but he did not take part in this year’s contest since he was banned due to his affiliation with Impossible Foods.

Joey Chestnut talks upcoming battle with Takeru Kobayashi

Instead of competing in the annual hot dog eating contest, Chestnut ate 57 hot dogs in a separate contest in El Paso. In an interview with Sports Illustrated in July, Chestnut talked about his upcoming matchup with Kobayashi.

“It came about very slowly. I’m very excited. Like two years ago, I did an interview, and when the interviewer asked me about Kobayashi, I said, ‘Of course I’d love to compete against him again, and I think there’s a way we could do it without Major League Eating, so he could be involved,'” Chestnut said.

“It was something like that. And then a person for Netflix who had also worked on the project for our documentary knew him, and we were able to get the ball rolling very slowly, and here we are. He’s very competitive, and very serious, and I’m excited. This is the guy that drove me—we drove each other to crazy limits, and we’re going to push each other again, finally. And finally there aren’t things in the way.”