WoD’s problem was its release. It was incomplete (Tanaan was intended to be a starting zone and it ended up in the last patch).
Look at the flagships of Battle for Azeroth:
Island Expeditions, Warfronts, World PvP - these were the selling points of the expansion. They were the first new features announced - tying them to a faction-war themed expansion seemed perfect. Look at what they are now. They are afterthoughts - used for timegating trivial features and catch-up mechanics. War Mode was a failure and sharding only made it worse.
WOD had a bad release. However, it was much more alt friendly and I think the PvP gearing was the best we’ll ever get.