Health gen was already really slow in season 1, and that never stopped Gief players from using V-skill.
Have you ever tried to actively let your white life regen in a real fight as Gief? If your opponent doesn't run away for a good 10 seconds, it's basically impossible.
So, this change really won't do as much to affect Gief's V-skill as you all think...because, honestly, Giefs already had no intention of regaining that life in Season 1. It's a write off in exchange for a parry.
actually tested this and it's really not that bad for Zangief currently; if Ryu starts with a f+HP, it does 90 damage. you can recover like 70 of those by the time you SPD'd Ryu if he doesn't stand up quickly or you keep the pressure.
if you flex the F+HP and the comboing shoryuken that follows (requires some timing) it will do 216 damage and yeah, you will only recover around less than half before Ryu gets a turn again, but it isn't that bad. most of the time you are trying to Flex one or two hits or a fireball
with the change, Zangief would barely recover 10 or 20 points by the time Ryu can recover the offensive
I do not deny that Zangief has to be willing to trade some health for advantage currently, but normally he can recover most; with such a change the trade solidifies in Zangief's disfavor, it is clearly a nerf.