Modern, original-timeline Azeroth continues to exist. The entire history of the First, Second and Third Wars, of the founding of the New Horde, the Cataclysm, the discovery of Pandaria and the defeat of Garrosh Hellscream - all of these things have still happened, and continue to affect our world.
On the other side of the red-tinted Dark Portal, an alternate universe awaits. Its only connection to ours is the fact that it was spun off by the actions of one our universe's own: Garrosh. This alternate Draenor is somehow suffering from a 30-year lag, but it has managed to connect itself to modern-day, original-timeline Azeroth.
But there's a third factor, and that is the shattered realm of Outland. Outland still exists, and in fact it exists within our universe, but with the Dark Portal hijacked by the Iron Horde, it is now cut off from Azeroth, possibly many light-years away. Sure, given the fact that it's actually stuck in the Twisting Nether, it may not be so difficult to get there again, but I have to imagine that the remaining soldiers stationed in Honor Hold and Thrallmar are going to freak the hell out when they find out that the giant Dark Portal doesn't lead home anymore.
Or does it?
When WoD comes out, we will have access to Azeroth-A, Draenor-A (Outland,) and Draenor-B.
So what's going on in Azeroth-B?
Admittedly, the answer may simply be: "not a whole lot." The opening of the Dark Portal and the arrival of the Horde was kind of a big event for Azeroth. That said, it wasn't like there weren't other things going on.
The Humans and High Elves had always fought the Trolls as their perennial enemy. In fact, the humans of Stormwind and the Darkspear Trolls were very likely enemies centuries before there was an Alliance or a Horde (though as outcasts of the Gurubashi Empire, the Darkspear may not have been quite as involved.) The Dark Iron dwarves had already summoned Ragnaros to the Molten Core hundreds of years earlier, and it's likely that the three major Dwarf clans were, and might still be, at each other's throats without the Horde to unite them (yes, the Wildhammer and Bronzebeard didn't really get along either.)
Without Ner'zhul's portal-mania, there would be no Scourge, and thus no Worgen and no Forsaken, though in the absence of a Horde to inspire the Alliance, it's not clear that the kingdoms of Gilneas and Lordaeron were all that close (actually, it's pretty clear that the Greymanes were isolationists to the point of being kind of dicks, though the Worgen curse has made Genn a lot more humble these days.) While the external threat of the Trolls was probably enough to keep the various human kingdoms from warring with each other, there was nothing resembling the unity that would come with Anduin Lothar and Terenas Menethil's Alliance of Lordaeron.
The funny thing here is that none of this is really alternate history - it's just history. This was the state of things before and during the First War. It wasn't really until the Second that the world outside of "The Kingdom of Azeroth" (aka Stormwind) really changed.
And since we didn't see anyone going back in time to arm Anduin Lothar with a bunch of Dwarven Steamtanks and airships like the Skybreaker*, it's actually likely that Azeroth-B is, if anything, less prepared to deal with a major threat than before.
So let's now contemplate something. Draenor-B is now connected to Azeroth-A. But Medivh-B is still possessed by Sargeras on Azeroth-B. Gul'dan was not able to win over the Horde in Draenor-B, due to Garrosh's intervention (so, point one for Garrosh? I guess?) but Medivh is still there, and still evil.
Right now, a tired, but also battle-hardened Azeroth is dealing with a fresh young Horde that is armed with modern weapons. We have the experience and the knowledge of our foes, but the Iron Horde has numbers and zeal.
But if Azeroth-A is connected to Draenor-B, does that mean that Azeroth-B is now vulnerable to Draenor-A?
Yes, I realize this is a pretty big leap in logic, and it's possible that there just is no Dark Portal in the Black Morass in Azeroth-B, and the following theory may be way more outside-the-box than Blizzard is going for, but stick with me:
What if someone - and someone far cleverer than Garrosh - is trying to very sneakily accomplish something far worse than unleashing a Horde of dangerous Orcs on the universe.
Sargeras brought the Horde to Azeroth through Medivh in order to weaken the world for an invasion by the Burning Legion. Where the Horde failed, he later sent the Scourge. The Scourge got a lot closer, but ultimately, due to the Lich King's betrayal of his demonic masters, this was a failure as well.
The Horde was not enough to conquer Azeroth at the time. The Scourge was not, partially due to the reformed Horde standing against it.
So let's look at Outland. Sure, we beat Illidan, and we've been fighting demons there for a long time. Infernals, Felguards and Pit Lords assault the Dark Portal night and day, but the combined forces of the Alliance and Horde hold them back, reinforced as they are by their bases in the Blasted Lands.
But with the Dark Portal now leading to the wrong Azeroth, these defenders are not going to hold out for very long. And when that massive legion of demons does break through, they're not going to find an Azeroth that has spent thirty years gearing up to fight off the Burning Legion. Instead, they're going to find the outlying swamplands of a rather peaceful kingdom that has never had to deal with any threat bigger than a few Gurubashi Trolls.
Who altered the Dark Portal, after all? Garrosh knows a thing or two about industrialization and military strategy. He's happy to use any powerful artifact at his disposal - from the Focusing Iris to the Divine Bell to the Heart of Y'shaarj - but last time I checked, the guy was not a temporal-dimensional-gateway engineer, nor a mage.
What if the goal is not to connect the Iron Horde and Draenor-B to our Azeroth? What if Medivh-B, with Sargeras holding the reins, is really trying to connect the demon-infested Outland to a quiet, unsuspecting Azeroth?
This is some serious tin-foil hat stuff, but Sargeras might be pulling the old Kansas City Shuffle. We're all looking left (going to the alternate Draenor to stop the Iron Horde) and he, and the Burning Legion, are going right.
*And in light of all that, perhaps there's only one way we can succeed in stopping him. They said that the final boss of WoD is not going to be an Orc. Maybe Draenor is ultimately a distraction. Perhaps, what we're really going to have to do is take a page out of Garrosh's book and create the Iron Alliance so that we can fend off the demon as we fight our way to Karazhan to kill the Last Guardian.
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