It’s essentialy but not entirely true

On the following screenshots you can see WWE ratings from the moment CM Punk made his Pipebomp promo to the end of 2011 as you see the summer of Punk didn’t necessarily lead to ratings increases and it was made even worse by WWE blowing up the summer of Punk with all this nonsense with Triple H and Kevin Nash

Then down below you can see the year by year average Monday Night Raw ratings. CM Punk was champion for all of 2012 yet the average ratings fall during the period

2000: 5.88
2001: 4.64
2002: 4.01
2003: 3.76
2004: 3.67
2005: 3.81
2006: 3.90
2007: 3.61
2008: 3.27
2009: 3.57
2010: 3.28
2011: 3.21
2012: 3.00
2013: 3.01
2014: 2.95
2015: 2.64
2016: 2.26

Now I want to make clear I don’t attribute at all the declining ratings back then to CM Punk it’s the opposite CM Punk Pipebomb promo has generated a renewed interest from fans who for many of them have not only stop to watch Raw but stop to follow or to care all together about the program . Had WWE actually capitalize on CM Punk momentum it might have lead to a ratings increase and for many WWE not taking the opportunity to make Punk a superstar was the final nail in the coffin making them stop watching Raw

So Yes WWE completely missed the spot creatively when it comes to CM Punk but he didn’t ( to no fault of his own ) make the ratings go up