I don't know why people were downplaying GB.
I never understood why people resort to downplaying so easily.
Yes Momo damaged GB but he recovered..and, there was an element of surprise involved too.
As far as running away is concerned then GB is in wano
You have SHs, Kid and Law there who defeated Kaido and BM + Samurais + Shanks and his crew.
And, one more thing - Navy and WG cherish Balance of Power. They were siding with kaido being in wano simply because to maintain this Balance of Power.
And, this balance of power was destroyed when kaido and BM fell down.
To reinstate this Balance, we got two new Yonkous.
GB fighting Shanks and his crew rn is akin to once again fighting which could lead further disruption in BoP.
It's tactical retreat from GB which is smart move and not something to downplay