Nothing in WoW ever gets "reset".
They don't take away gear once earned... ever.
I still have my level 70 warlock Grand Marshal set. Yes, the one you can't get anymore. The one that was replaced by that horrible "rep" PVP gear with the same stats yet horrible look. Grandfathered, forever. Still have the level 70 Grand Marshal Staff too. I will never, ever delete, DE or sell those items. They were the worst "grind" of BG rep I have ever done and will ever do again.
As much as I loathe seeing XP off players in full Brutal gear ungemmed, with a mix of quest greens and blues because I know just how hard those shoulders were to get at one point? I do not want to see requirements put in for level 70 gear again.
You do that, you kill the bracket. Period. Amen.
I have talked several people into making a 70 of their choice. A class they always wanted but didn't want to level to 85 all over again. I told them how easy the gear was to get, how it was relatively cheap to enchant/gem. They ate it up and now love playing matches. If people had to grind out gear for a side project that was as if not more demanding than their mains? Yeah, you'd kill this bracket.
Like it or not rating/requirements on new characters would kill of 70-74 as quickly as XP in battlegrounds killed 39's, 49's etc.
New blood is a requirement to keep any bracket alive.
EDIT: Oh and not to brag because I know someone else can top this as far as the "can't get that anymore" novelty? I also have to have the only full warlock D2 set on my BC server. I did it in the dying days of BC prior to WOTLK for something to do. Everyone I played with thought I was crazy for doing it for RP purposes. Now, you can't get it. Their idea of RP sets are now T6 which to me, is laughable.
