It could be Pearce, but I think they would have to give him a good reason/backstory for seeking personal justice other than "I was cut from Gutcheck" for the angle to truly have impact. Low Ki has history with the promotion but DOC is right now my safe bet. If it is Holly I'm gonna chuck golf balls at children.
Figure Pearce and the rest of the people eliminated first would be back soon, there's no way they could execute Gut Check as badly as they did without it being a work lmao.
Wasn't Jay Bradley the only person to "face the judges" who actually won his match since they switched it to all indy talents?
As you say they need a MUCH better hook than "RAWR I HATE YOU TNA! You guys don't know what you're doing!" and the last thing they need is another faction (well, after another ex-WWE guy), or another management vs wrestler storyline. In theory it could work with TNA hate at an all-time high, but the Aces and Sevens are the exact same thing. So was Matt Morgan.
If it's Bob Holly I'll be right with Gohan talking about buildness.