The Phenom (2004–2006)

In the storyline leading up to [[WrestleMania XX]], Kane was haunted by vignettes proclaiming an Undertaker return. The first was during the [[Royal Rumble]] when Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing [[Booker T]] to eliminate him. At WrestleMania XX, the Undertaker, accompanied by [[Paul Bearer]] and in his "Deadman" persona, returned and defeated Kane. Three months later, Bearer was kidnapped by the Dudley Boyz at the direction of [[Paul Heyman]], who then took "control" of Undertaker. The angle added a new twist at The Great American Bash where Undertaker was forced to fight a handicap match against the Dudleys, and if he lost, Heyman would bury Bearer in cement. The Undertaker won but buried Bearer anyway, explaining that Bearer was merely a liability now and that he had no use for him anymore. Fans were later told that Bearer was "seriously injured," but in reality, he was simply removed from WWE programming due to health reasons. The Undertaker also remained a face. After defeating the Dudley Boyz, Undertaker began a new storyline feud by challenging then WWE Champion [[John Layfield|John "Bradshaw" Layfield]] (JBL) to a title match at [[SummerSlam]], which Undertaker lost when he disqualified himself. At [[No Mercy]], Undertaker and JBL were booked to compete in the first ever "Last Ride" match, although Undertaker lost after [[Jon Heidenreich|Heidenreich]] interfered. After a brief program with Heidenreich, Undertaker turned his focus to the WWE Championship once again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and [[Booker T]], he challenged JBL to a championship rematch at [[Armageddon]] in a Fatal Four-Way, in which Undertaker was unsuccessful, again due to Heidenreich's interference. This led to a Casket match between Undertaker and Heidenreich at the [[Royal Rumble]], where Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket for the victory to end the storyline. Soon afterward, [[Randy Orton]] challenged The Undertaker to a match at [[WrestleMania 21]], in an angle where Orton claimed that he would end The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. Even with help from his father [[Bob Orton, Jr.|"Cowboy" Bob Orton]], Randy failed, and the Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13-0. Following WrestleMania, Undertaker took a two month hiatus from wrestling after the birth of his second daughter in late May 2005. He returned for the June 16 episode of SmackDown! but lost to JBL, thanks to interference from Randy Orton. After The Great American Bash, Undertaker became number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, a position that JBL felt he should have. As part of the feud, on the following SmackDown!, Undertaker lost a number one contender match against JBL, once again due to interference from Orton. With this, Undertaker resumed his feud with Orton. At SummerSlam, Orton defeated Undertaker in a WrestleMania rematch. The storyline intensified as the two taunted each other with caskets, leading to a casket match at [[No Mercy]], in which Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it afire. When the charred casket was opened, however, Undertaker had once again vanished. He returned at the [[Survivor Series]], emerging from a burning casket. Undertaker returned to SmackDown! in early December to haunt Orton and set up a Hell in a Cell match at [[Armageddon]]. After winning the match, Calaway took a short hiatus from wrestling, presumably due to controversy associated with the match, as Bob Orton was diagnosed with hepatitis but was allowed to bleed during the match without Calaway knowing of his condition. In early 2006 at the [[Royal Rumble]], Undertaker returned during [[Kurt Angle]]'s celebration of his world title defense against [[Mark Henry]] on a horse drawn cart, signaling for a title shot. As part of their storyline feud, Undertaker lost his match with Angle at [[No Way Out]] after a thirty minute bout. Undertaker cornered Angle after the match, and after a stare down, told Angle that he had his number and that he was not finished with him yet. The Undertaker had his No Way Out rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle on ''SmackDown!'' when Henry attacked Undertaker from behind, costing him the title. This began an angle between the duo, as Undertaker then challenged Henry to a Casket match at [[WrestleMania 22]], and Henry, like Orton a year before him, vowed to end Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. Undertaker defeated Henry to become 14-0 at WrestleMania, keeping his storyline undefeated streak alive. During a rematch on the next edition of SmackDown!, [[The Great Khali]] made his debut and assaulted the Undertaker, signaling the end of one storyline and the beginning of a new one. The Undertaker was not heard from until the May 5 edition of SmackDown!, as Theodore Long delivered a challenge from Undertaker to Khali for a match at Judgment Day. Undertaker was booked to cleanly lose to Khali, and he did not appear again until the July 4 edition of ''SmackDown!'' to accept Khali's challenge to a Punjabi Prison match at The Great American Bash. Khali, however, was removed from the match due to elevated liver enzymes and was replaced by ECW Champion [[The Big Show]], over whom The Undertaker gained the victory. In the storyline, Teddy Long replaced Khali with Big Show as punishment for an attack on Undertaker shortly before the match. Khali was then challenged to a Last Man Standing match at [[SummerSlam]] after interfering in Undertaker's match with World Heavyweight Champion [[King Booker]]. Khali refused the challenge for SummerSlam, though Long made the match official for the August 18 episode of SmackDown! instead. Undertaker won the match by striking Khali with the steel stairs, delivering several chair shots, and finishing him with a chokeslam.
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