8 WWE PPVs The Undertaker Main-Evented (That He Shouldn't Have)
3. The Great American Bash 2004 (Vs. The Dudley Boyz)
What should have main-evented: Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL
When the Undertaker returned as the 'Deadman' in 2004, he brought back all the classic trappings from the '90s: creatures of the night, Paul Bearer and his urn, and a familiar feud formula - ‘Taker vs. an evil manager’s goons over possession of said urn. This time, the Harvey Wippleman/Ted DiBiase role was occupied by Paul Heyman, and the role of the big sweaty goons was played by Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, who took on ‘Taker in a handicap match to close The Great American Bash.
A charming nostalgia trip aside, the match is utterly pointless and boring, and the crowd really didn’t care about it (for good reason, as it was b*llocks). More baffling is the aftermath. Paul Bearer, who was held hostage by Paul Heyman in a cement truck death trap (don’t ask), asked The Undertaker to free him. Instead, ‘Taker decided to hit the switch and drown Bearer in cement, apparently killing him (he got better).
Why did ‘Taker do this? No answer. The best guess is that everything else had been so pointless, he wanted to give the audience something to talk about afterward. Mission accomplished, I guess.