Santos Escobar Got Some Valuable Advice From Paul Heyman About Working In WWE

Paul Heyman has long been considered one of pro wrestling's sharpest creative minds, most memorably brought to fruition in the form of Extreme Championship Wrestling's presentation in the mid to late 1990s. But he's had his hands in much more, serving as a formal and informal member of the WWE creative team on and off since 2001, as well as offering advice to wrestlers who ask — as well as some who don't.

On the latest episode of "Out of Character with Ryan Satin," current WWE star Santos Escobar recalled how the best advice he's even gotten in pro wrestling came unsolicited from Heyman. Escobar explained how, a few months ago, he asked Paul "Triple H" Levesque for permission to shave or at least trim his beard, which he was denied, although he has gained that freedom since turning babyface as part of the Latino World Order, alongside his cohorts from Legado Del Fantasma and WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio.

Using this as an example of how the proper etiquette is to ask for permission for major image changes because "it's not your show," Escobar segued into advice that Paul Heyman gave him when "The Wise Man" saw him waiting to ask a different question of Levesque.

"He gave me the best advice someone ever gave me," Escobar recalled. "He said, [mimicking Heyman's speech patterns but not his voice] 'If you have a question, go and ask Paul Levesque. Because if you don't ask him, whatever you're thinking is wrong, you're to blame. But if you're a true professional, and you have a question, you go and ask him. Trust me, it's worse if you don't ask.' And that just created a new reality in my head, because it's true. You can't just go out there and ad-lib. Ask! There's latitude, of course, but those things and several other things? You gotta ask."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Out of Character with Ryan Satin" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.