Currently, there is little incentive for the top traditional programs (particularly PSU and Iowa) to participate in these duals especially with the conference and national tournaments looming. Under the current conditions, there is far greater reputation and recruiting rewards for underdogs and non-powerhouse schools to gain prominence with a victory.

NWCA is faced with several questions that will not lead to an optimal format and probably a continued decline in the format and importance of the Duals.
Do they scrap the current format reverting to knockout tournament?
Do they keep the Duals as is?
Do they hold the tournament earlier in the season?
How will a schedule change impact their ability to land all of the top program?

I would love to see the tournament revert to a knockout stage but given the current weekend slot, you are asking wrestlers at elite programs to grapple with other elite in-conference rivals 2-4 times (conference duals, National Duals, conference tourney, NCAAs) over a 60-90 day period. I don't see any coach wanting that format especially when negative results will impact NCAA seeding.

Do they look for another weekend earlier in the season? A shift in weekends would lead to several major risks/issues for the NWCA, they would deal with competition from other events. They would need to compete with other tournaments to secure the top programs for an early in-season bout.

Assessing the factors, you can see why Brands and Cael would have so much clout over the NWCA. The Duals need Penn State and Iowa annually for the Duals to be successful and there is not an optimal alternative to the current format.