>People legit seething about the interim champion stuff

I'm not on either side of this fence, but it's exactly the same as what WWE did back after MiTB 2011, even if it's a course correcting thing due to injury. It's a good thing, because it allows Punk's reign to effectively happen while he's not there, he can come back and put someone over when he comes back, and it raises intrigue. You literally get no Punk but a Punk reign, and if Khan is dumb enough to let Punk win the unification, he deserves what he gets.