The Warlords of Draenor cinematic takes a famous scene from Warcraft history and then alters it. While both the "Draenor Universe" and the "Outland Universe" are separate from long before this event, it's here that the most profound change is made. Grommash rejects Gul'dan's offer of demonic strength. He slays Mannoroth with the help of Garrosh's sophisticated modern (or from Grom's perspective, futuristic) technology, and Gul'dan is taken prisoner.
It's not a case of the good guys winning, given that the Iron Horde is just as bent on conquest as the original Horde, but the focus of power is seriously shifted. The Warlocks, far from being the secret masters of the Horde, are now pariahs and outcasts, desperately scrambling to pick up the pieces of the plan that worked so effectively in the original timeline.
The thing is, Garrosh is not the only new factor in play. The Iron Horde, pushed by a vengeance-obsessed Garrosh, invaded Azeroth before they had fully consolidated their power on Draenor. The Draenei have lost ground, certainly, but they're still a significant force that takes resources away from the Iron Horde's strength. The Frostwolves, rather than being invited to join (and if they joined the original, demon-blood-infested Horde, I can't see why they wouldn't join the Iron variety,) were rejected, and thus present a smaller, but significant threat to the Iron Horde flank.
But the biggest factor - the result of this premature invasion - is the combined forces of the Alliance and Horde. There's no real technological advantage here - the Iron Horde's tech is taken from our era anyway - and the forces of Azeroth are well-acquainted with all the leaders of the Iron Horde, or at least, acquainted with their doppelgängers. There's practically no home field advantage, because the Orcs and Draenei of Azeroth spent years, or even centuries, on a nearly-identical planet.
Numbers and a resource-rich industrial base are surely nothing to sneeze at, but the Iron Horde is losing quickly and big.
And Gul'dan, who had been intended as nothing more than a battery to power the Dark Portal, is now free.
Ok, spoiler time.
6.2's legendary plot looks like it will have us witness Gul'dan's efforts to take over the Iron Horde. We don't know if this will be an immediate success, but given that they've talked about the final raid being very demon-heavy, I suspect Gul'dan will probably emerge victorious. Will he become Warchief? I don't know about that, as he'd probably prefer a puppet (can't be Blackhand, as he's officially killable now.)
I'd honestly not be surprised to find Gul'dan as the final boss of the expansion. Frankly, I'd be more excited about that than Grommash - Gul'dan's an Orc, yes, but he's a totally different archetype than Garrosh was.
But that leaves an interesting question open: What happens to Grom Hellscream?
It's totally possible that he'll remain Warchief. He was convinced to drink the blood of Mannoroth not once, but twice in our universe. Even after he swore the sauce off for good, all it took was a significantly dangerous foe (Cenarius) to get him to go back to it and go all Fel-red.
So as awesome as it was to see him pouring the blood on the ground, I don't have a lot of faith in Hellscream's conviction. Sure, Mannoroth is dead, and his blood is probably no longer potent, but Gul'dan's got a direct line to the Legion, and I'll bet they can bring in alternate-Magtheridon or someone like him if they need more blood.
But what if he doesn't drink?
Grom's methods have been brutal, yes, but he thinks he's doing the right thing. The vision he was given of our timeline was a Horde enslaved by the demon blood - destroying their own world and then ending up captured by the humans. The rest of the Horde's history was cut off before he could see it.
But if we're standing against the Legion, is Hellscream perceptive enough to realize that his entire crusade against us was built on lies?
WoW's not generally big on reconciliation. Even when there's a split between bad guys, it just means that we'll have two raids instead of one.
But I think, at least story-wise, it would be interesting to see an ousted Hellscream come to understand his errors and then aid us in the march against Gul'dan.
UPDATE: SPOILERS AFTER THE BREAK. SERIOUSLY, SPOILERS!
Apparently, if you somehow got absurdly lucky with Elemental Rune drops and you've cleared BRF on normal, you might have gotten to a point in the Legendary chain where some serious, serious developments hit the Iron Horde.
It all comes to a head in a cinematic. I can't seem to get the thing to embed, so I'll point you to MMO-Champion if you want to watch it.
To summarize:
Gul'dan shows up at the Iron Horde's doorstep, carrying with him the blood of, if not Mannoroth, then some other Pit Lord.
He mocks Hellscream for having done such a poor job - he promised "conquest," yet all he's done is gotten his Warlords killed. Gul'dan then plays his best card - he tosses Grommash Gorehowl - the ancestral axe, and finally tells Grommash who Garrosh was. If the death of his son isn't enough to turn him, nothing will.
And to Hellscream's credit, he still rejects the offer.
But Gul'dan knows this is the point of no return, and so he blasts Grommash, binding him in place with Fel magic. Gul'dan calls out for someone else to take the blood and accept the power he is offering.
And that's when Kilrogg Deadeye steps up.
Yes, Kilrogg, who we've all been waiting to do something all expansion, drinks the blood and is transformed into a Fel Orc, taking Grommash's place in history. Gul'dan is now the master of the Iron Horde - or rather, a new, Fel Horde.
The crazy thing is that I think that this article - which I wrote mere hours before seeing the video - might indeed prove true. Grommash has been ousted, and the Iron Horde is falling to Fel magic and Gul'dan's machinations. What I did not even consider was who might take things over.
To be fair, we don't know that Kilrogg will be made Warchief. Gul'dan might just come right out and declare himself in charge. But we can expect to see the Bleeding Hollow taking a very prominent position in the formerly "iron" Horde.
It's looking almost unquestionable that Gul'dan will be our final boss of the expansion, but at this point Grommash could very well be put in a position where he's willing to accept our trust to save the Orcs of Draenor from a dark, demon-dominated fate.
Even though I kind of predicted this, I'm still very excited about this twist. There's a kind of tragedy to the Iron Horde - had it been borne only out of defiance of the Legion and not out of Garrosh's petty revenge, it could have actually been a force for good. And now the price for their obsession with conquest is their very souls.
Another thing that's crazy about this is that Kilrogg must have known this would happen. He's seen his own death. So all along he knew that he would drink the blood. He knew that Grommash's Iron Horde would fail. Hey! Maybe that's why we haven't encountered many Bleeding Hollow yet? Kilrogg knew to hold them back.
And to top it all off, the Draenor Horde now combines the modern technology of the New Horde with the Fel Magics of the Old Horde.
I can't freaking wait to get to Tanaan.
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