There are a couple of different topics here...
1. Recipe vs. Cook skill. Sure, it would be somewhat interesting to see what happens when everyone is given the same tools, same sauce, and it were just a matter of who was the most accomplished cook.
The problem therein is that, with semi-competent cooks, the difference between the worst entry and the best entry would be pretty small. In a field of say, 30 cooks, I'm guessing that any slight nuances between finished products would be so slight that even the most veteran judges wouldn't be able to tell the difference. At that point, it's a lottery, and the competition becomes meaningless. There would only be a precious few variables that the cooks could control, while FLAVOR allows for damn near infinite possibilities.
2. Technology. Yes, I miss the days of tending the pit, watching the heat, amount/quality of smoke, and the different temperature zones, and their effect on the meat.
Any large BBQ restaurant doesn't have someone watching their pit 24x7. They use large, commercial smokers that you can set to a temperature, and they will maintain it, like an oven with smoke. The premise of these high-dollar cookers is finding it's way into our backyards and campsites, and is definitely making a presence at BBQ competitions.
10 years ago, these multi-thousand dollar cookers gave some teams a huge advantage. Now, with iQue, Stoker, and many other portable solutions, everyone has access to managed heat/smoke. That's just the way technology rolls. You don't see a lot of Nascar engines without fuel injection.
I still miss the art of "pit management". It was my job on the team for a while. I miss the challenge, but I like amazing BBQ even more. The goal is to make the best BBQ you can... I think the rules are gonna allow anything and everything that makes that happen as time goes on...