I think we already have the answer to that question in the form of companies like Elsevier. Or was that not the peer review process you were talking about?
No, journal reviews have nothing to do with oral defenses. And besides, Elsevier is a private company, we are talking about a public process. Who knows, the actual review process could be public (actually, SHOULD be public), even if in a "read only" sense (maybe with the ability to file prior art claims, etc).
Thesis defense style would break down pretty quickly, as people tend to like to get work done instead of spending every day on a review panel.
This is the 21st century. This doesn't have to involve a bunch of people sitting in a room all day. Could be video conference, could be asynchronous Q&A, etc. And the reviewers can be PAID to review, so they are getting work done since the review IS the work.