I doubt that VZW had anything to do with Samsung taking down the displays. Having it up for the weekend before the assumed release of Dec 8 makes perfect sense. They put it up to create some buzz and then took it down, no big deal. Remember this is Samsungs phone just as much as VZWs and any PR they can create is good for their sales. If all of the rumors are true this makes perfect sense as we should see it on display in VZW stores on wed when the phones are rumored to be arriving in the store and when the preoder is rumored to be starting. As for not showing the GSM version; It probably has to do with what ever exclusivity the LTE model has. Even if the no other carrier has the nexus right when the phones VZW exclusivity ends I expect them to put up GSM models along with the LTE ones in the Samsung store so that people on other carriers can pick up their goody.
BTW for those on ATT this is just my guess but I would think you will be stuck waiting longer than you may think for this phone as I would expect ATT to want to have the Nexus supporting their new LTE network. Meaning some changes and another trip to the FCC. I just cant see them trying to push LTE like they are and releasing a high end handset that is HSPA+ only.