Yeah, until I see otherwise, I'm calling that this is part of a work to install a little more 'realism' to the storyline. I mean, reports have been mentioning for awhile that the WWE wants to reinvigorate the "Summer Of Punk" storyline in some way for this current feud between Punk and HHH, and one of the main aspects of SOP was that there was a small dose of realism to it. So making people believe that Punk is really gone would fall right into that.
In the event that he is actually gone from WWE, oh well. He can always recharge himself and make a return later. In the meantime, I'd rather see Daniel Bryan vs Triple at Wrestlemania anyway. There's more long-term gain and benefit from HHH putting over Bryan than Punk.