3 reach is hardly a nerf. It should have the grip point still higher and its reach shortened. With the right grip I think the reach of the current mesh would be something like 112-114. It does significantly more cut damage than the other swords while keeping the same speed. I'd say it is a good tradeoff.
Shorter *often* means quicker, but not always. The historical piece was shorter heftier and more of a chopper than the continental equivalents. This trend is currently reflected in the stats.