The hot dog eating contest that helped upend the world of competitive eating is upon us, with Netflix releasing the first trailer for the long-awaited rematch between glizzy gobbling foes Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi.
The 50-second teaser has everything — and by everything, we mean dramatic narration, booming orchestral music, and some extreme close-ups of hot dogs dripping with what is presumably hot dog water and not sweat. “To be the greatest, it takes hunger few understand,” the narrator bellows.
The aptly-titled bout, “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” will be the first time that the two championship competitive eaters have faced each other in a hot dog eating contest in 15 years. Kobayashi won the famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest six times in the early 2000s but has not competed in that competition since 2009 because of a refusal to sign an exclusive deal with its organizer, Major League Eating.
In the interim, Chestnut has dominated the competition, winning it every year between 2007 and 2023, except in 2015 when he lost to Matt Stonie. Chestnut also holds the current world record for the most hot dogs and buns eaten in 10 minutes, with 76 (set in 2021).
Chestnut and Kobayashi faced each other just five times in the Nathan’s Contest, starting in 2005. Kobayashi won their first two meetings before Chestnut finally bested his rival in 2007 and won their next two stand-offs in 2008 and 2009.
The fabled rematch was announced earlier this summer, right on the heels of the shock announcement that Chestnut would be banned from the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. In a statement, Major League Eating said the ban was due to his new sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, a purveyor of plant-based franks.
The organization’s statement also acknowledged the then-unannounced Netflix rematch with Kobayashi: “MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths in recent months to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day. However it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship.”
“Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” will air live on Netflix this Labor Day, Sept. 2, at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. The bout will take place at the HyperX Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas.
