Joey Chestnut set to face off against long-time rival Takeru Kobayashi live on Netflix - as streaming giants announce 'ultimate hot dog eating contest' a day after Nathan's controversy

A day after Joey Chestnut was banned from competing in the July 4 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, the 16-time champion announced his return - live on Netflix!

In a shock reveal, the American competitive eating icon announced he is reigniting his wiener rivalry against Takeru Kobayashi in a live event on Netflix in September. 

Professional eating's most lucrative rivalry has not had a head-to-head matchup in over a dozen years due to Kobayashi not signing with Major League Eating ahead of the 2010 Hot Dog Eating Contest. 

The event will take place on September 2, which is Labor Day, with the event being billed as 'Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef'. 

Kobayashi had retired earlier this year from competitive eating, but now appears to be making a shock return to the table. 

Chestnut not being able to retain his hot-dog championship is due to his brand deal with Impossible Foods. Nathan's sponsors the annual Independence Day eating competition and is a rival brand. 

One source told the New York Post that Chestnut was paid $200,000 to appear at last year's Nathan's contest, and was even offered a $1.2 million, four-year deal beginning this year.

Ultimately, Chestnut felt compelled to honor his unspecified agreement with Impossible Foods, who also released a statement of their own on Wednesday.

'We love Joey and support him in any contest he chooses,' read the statement from a brand spokesperson. 'It's OK to experiment with a new dog. Meat eaters shouldn't have to be exclusive to just one wiener.'

Known as 'Jaws,' Chestnut wolfed down 62 hot dogs to win the 2023 Nathan's title, which was a slight downtick from the record 76 he ate in 2021.

Earlier this month, Chestnut was seen taking down pints of ice cream during a contest at a minor league baseball game. And the 40-year-old showed that his eating prowess is not limited to hot dogs as he managed to scarf down four pints of ice cream in a minute.

According to MLB.com, Chestnut also ate 36 nuggets of fried walleye in a minute during the pregame 'Eat and Greet' session with fans.

He reportedly visited a minor league stadium in Lansing, Michigan last August as well, and ate a world-record 13 olive burgers in five minutes.

Chestnut is no stranger to eating ice cream competitively, as he also ate a record 23.5 ice cream sandwiches in six minutes in 2018, as per Major League Eating.

In 2022, he told USA TODAY Sports he earned more than $500,000 and his net worth exceeds $4 million.

He has promotional deals with DUDE Wipes, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Wonderful Pistachios and Pepsi.

Chestnut has been on the competitive eating scene since 2005, when he broke out with a performance in the deep-fried asparagus eating championship.

Since then, the Westfield, Indiana native has gone on to set countless records, most famously with hot dogs, where his mark of 76 in the 2021 Nathan's competition stands alone.