AEW DARK Results: Debuting star squashed, Mercedez Martinez retains ROH World Women's Championship against former IMPACT star (31 May 2022)

AEW DARK kicked off with a bang after the recent Double or Nothing pay-per-view. Episode 146 of the show had a relatively small card, with only five matches in total. On top of this, the show even featured a title defense.

Being the shortest DARK episode to date, fans were treated to a quick succession of matches with explosive endings. Continue reading as we break down this past episode of AEW DARK and reveal the results.

AEW DARK Opener: Mercedez Martinez (c) vs. Viva Van for the ROH Women's World Championship

AEW DARK opened up with the ROH Women's World Championship on the line. Mercedez Martinez began the bout strongly, dominating Van before the star reversed with kicks.

Martinez's experience proved to be too much for Viva Van. The challenger lost her momentum as the champion executed some incredible maneuvers.

Mercedez quickly delivered her finisher to Viva Van, locking in The Brass City Sleeper to secure a submission victory.

Winner: Mercedez Martinez (c).

Grade: B+, a quick bout that made Martinez look absolutely dominating. The champion should definitely compete on television soon.

The Butcher and The Blade w/The Bunny vs. The Pillars of Destiny

The heel duo were back together, alongside The Bunny, after being involved with the HFO and AFO. Butcher started the bout off strongly as he traded blows with Hunter Grey.

The Blade capitalized off Butcher's dominance as the star entered the bout with the upper hand on Hunter. Paul Titan then made his way into the ring after an unorthodox tag from Hunter. Blade managed to dominate Titan despite being far smaller before Butcher tagged back in.

The Pillars of Destiny seemed to have upper hand only for a moment before their opponents secured the advantage back again. The Blade got the three count after a vicious tag-team finisher with the help of The Butcher.

Winners: The Butcher and The Blade.

Grade: B, after a slew of defeats, fans were reminded of how dominant The Butcher and The Blade can be.

Anthony Ogogo of The Factory vs. Carlie Bravo

Anthony Ogogo returned to AEW DARK for yet another singles bout. The two stars began the bout aggressively with classic grappling. While Ogogo began dominating, Bravo surprised him by gaining the upper hand.

Bravo continued to wear Ogogo down after an impressive spinning elbow in the corner turnbuckle. However, the larger Ogogo regained the upper hand after Bravo missed a clothesline attempt. The Guvnor locked Bravo's arm behind his back and delivered several body blows to the star.

Anthony Ogogo then knocked Bravo out with a lifting Haymaker and draped his opponent with the flag of Great Britain, scoring a victory by TKO.

Winner: Anthony Ogogo.

Grade: B+, The Guvnor has been impressive lately, and fans are likely waiting for him to return to television.

Jamie Hayter vs. Danika Della Rouge

Jamie Hayter returned to AEW DARK without Britt Baker, as the star took on the debuting Danika Della Rouge. Hayter began the bout dominating Rouge in terms of strength, aggressively attacking the star in the corner turnbuckle.

Danika regained momentum for only a moment before Hayter delivered a brutal backbreaker to the star. Hayter closed the match with a Ripcord-Lariat after dominating for the majority of the bout.

Winner: Jamie Hayter.

Grade: B-, the only real squash match of the night.

AEW DARK Main Event: The Dark Order vs. The Wingmen and Serpentico

Serpentico yet again teamed up with The Wingmen on AEW DARK. Peter Avalon and John Silver started the match, with Silver quickly dominating the much smaller star. The Dark Order continued to dominate as Ryan Nemeth entered the bout.

Serpentico gained the upper hand after Avalon assisted the star, and The Wingmen surprisingly overpowered Evil Uno. Uno shifted the match back into The Dark Order's favor with a double stunner. However, The Wingmen briefly regained control after #10 momentarily dominated Serpentico.

After regaining the upper hand and taking out The Wingmen, The Dark Order decisively ended the match delivering a Pendulum Bomb to Serpentico.

Winners: The Dark Order.

Grade: C; the match was obviously in The Dark Order's favor from the get-go. While fans of the faction might enjoy the bout, it was an obvious ending to a largely comical match.