When Netflix said they were getting into the live sports business, we never expected they meant this…Famed competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut will go bun-to-bun with rival Takeru Kobayashi on Labor Day in a weiner-takes-all hot dog eating competition, an announcement made in the wake of Chestnut being banned from competing at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th. A lot has transpired in the world of competitive eating this week, so let’s play ketchup.
Earlier this week, Joey Chestnut – who has won Nathan’s contest 16 times, including last year’s and 2021’s record-setting 76-dog day – unveiled that he had been disinvited from the Coney Island contest. This was due to Chesnut having a sponsorship with Impossible Foods, which Major League Eating deemed a “rival brand.” Chesnut took to X to express his frustrations, writing, “I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years Im banned from the Nathan’s July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest. I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title.” He ended his remarks with, “Sadly, this is the decision Nathan’s and Major League Eating are making, and it will deprive the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment. To my fans, I love you and appreciate you. Rest assured that you’ll see me eat again soon!! STAY HUNGRY!”
Enter Netflix, who announced one day later that Joey Chestnut will take on Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi in the aforementioned September 2nd showdown. Kobayashi – who holds world records in eating everything from buffalo wings to cow brains – actually announced his retirement just last month but is clearly up for competing to be top dog. “Retiring for me will only happen after I take him down one last time. This rivalry has been brewing for a long time. Competing against Joey live on Netflix means fans all over the world can watch me knock him out.”
While it’s a huge disappointment for fans of competitive eating (or those curious to see what gluttons are made of) that Joey Chestnut will not be at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest this year, Netflix’s offering is far from a wurst-case scenario.
How do you feel about Joey Chestnut being banned from Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest? Will you check out his match against Kobayashi on Labor Day?