The guy was ready from day one to be a major player for them. He got over in ECW as a babyface. Instead of getting behind him, they had him eliminated first in that Extreme Elimination Chamber and then he was a midcard guy for a number of years. He got the WHC cash in, then was a mid card champ. He never got the chance to do anything or was made to feel important. He lost the belt in a match he wasn't even in. Punk could talk and wrestle unlike a lot of guys they were pushing hard. It didn't make sense how they treated him when they needed new guys. So then he was a midcard guy, went over to Smackdown becomes the top heel with the hottest program in WWE. Main-evented Summerslam. Then he got jobbed out to Taker and went down into the midcard again. SES shit was good, got over but they got jobbed out to big show of all people. At this point, he proved he could get over and do main event matches. But they were passing him over, keeping him in the upper midcard. Him and New nexus get jobbed out to Orton, then the pipebomb happens, he's red-hot. Selling shirts/merch. beats Cena and he comes back to lose the belt to DEL RIO of all people. After jobbing for a few months, he gets the belt back, plays second banana to Cena, then turns heel, has an entertaining run, jobs to Rock, jobs to Taker, comes back, then jobs to Brock, feuds with Paul heyman, then Authority/Kane, then The Shield. Overall, I don't think they maximized what they got out of him. Compare CM Punk's push to what they gave Roman Reigns. I think if they got fully behind him, it would have done good business for them, kept him happy, and lead to great segments. After seeing how he acts when he has power, I see why they didn't give him what he wanted. To answer the question, yes, I would say they held him back.
