CM Punk As Testing Ground: Will It Get Better Now?

For the last months, we've seen Punk hopping from one line to another.
He's out of the title picture. A bit sad for a good performer, but would be fine with me, if they had a clear alternative. After all, he needed to leave space for Batista as new heel to challenge Taker.
First, he got a rather embarrasing storyline feuding a referree. Might have had something like potential if it would have been extended into a feud with Teddy Long, with both whoring for Vince's favour, Long screwing Punk regulary and getting beaten up every few weeks in exchange. They did not do that and dropped the line without mentioning.
Next, he tried to pull R-Truth. Elevating lowers is always nice to see, but they kept it on a low pace and scheduled them in the beginning of the show all the time. They had some little promos, a few matches, that did not show them as equal... the top of that was being on different teams at Bragging Rights and having a dark match at TLC. Not exactly the way to rise a new star, if you ask me. Might have worked, if done better and longer, but this seems to be halfway over as well.
Then came Luke Gallows, and everyone was hoping (or afraid if being a mark) of a stable under straight edge rules to come. Again a storyline with great potential, and again nothing, WWE did until now. They left the two on their own, having nice aftermatch actions, but that's about all the last weeks. No new followers hinted.
CM Punk is in the Homecoming matches at ECW, but I don't expect him to win. He's just filling up the card, like he did at the Slammys.

Some say, the drop is caused by backstage discussions with the Undertaker or because of bad talking about Cena, but there might be another possibility.
They wanted to keep the Jeff Hardy thing to keep cooking, as it was a top storyline last year and expected to be picked up soon again. Feuding Hardy fits perfectly at Punks gimmick, and they wanted to be ready, whenever Jeff can be hired again. Therefore WWE tried not to put him too deep in any kind of storyline, to remain flexible. It would have been dropped anyhow, as soon as Hardy had been in the show again. So they just mixed him up in little debates and unimportant matches (mostly Tag Team, for a while).

Well, we know, Hardy won't be coming back for a while, now. I see things to come for the self-proclaimed saviour now, no matter if an intensive feud (unlike the lukewarm one with R-Truth), heading for the Tag belts with Gallows (why not?) or finally starting a real stable.
What do you think?