Most MMO’s do have some form of P2W to a certain extent, yes. But most MMOs are not Classic re-releases. P2W is very much a modern problem that wasn’t as much of a plague in the earlier days of these games.
If you look at OSRS, you can buy gold directly from Jagex and buy almost any item in the game from another player. Even the best items. The game was designed that way, as sort of an economy simulator so that players can get the best items without ever killing a single boss or monster.
Classic WoW is the complete opposite. It is a combat, progression and cooperative focused MMO. The intended design of WoW was to reach the maximum level, join a guild and kill bosses with your friends in order to get your loot.
GDKP goes against everything Classic WoW was intended to be, a social game where you make friends and help each other accomplish goals + loot.
If Kevin Jordan wanted players to be able to buy the majority of endgame loot, they would have made all items BoE and not BoP.