Steve Richardson is not squeamish about using the word 'midget.' Then again, Richardson, who stands 4 foot 4, is not squeamish about a lot of things, like diving headfirst into a pile of broken glass or stapling dollar bills to his genitalia. But let's get to the controversial point first. 'I would rather be called a midget than a little person,' he said recently, 'because I consider myself a very large individual.' That outsize personality is evident on 'Half Pint Brawlers,' a reality show set to debut on Spike TV on Wednesday. It follows Richardson and his fighters as they stage wrestling matches around the country, performing ring dives and other stunts for cheering -- and leering -- fans. 'Nobody is going to come out to see little people wrestling,' said Richardson, who prefers to be called Puppet. 'They don't know what it is. 'Little people' could be a short guy. Midget wrestling, you know exactly what the product is, and what you're coming to see.' In the first episode, audiences also get to see him nearly vomit from his signature stapler move, which he called par for the course. Another character has his head split open when a blow delivered by his own brother lands wrong. And there is the hazing of a new member, Turtle, who is forced to run around a rest stop in his underwear, screaming about his stature. Given all this, it seems unlikely that battles would be pitched solely over word choice. But 'midget' has long been considered derogatory, said Gary Arnold, a spokesman for the advocacy group Little People of America. Over the years 'midget became closely associated with the sideshow, the freak show, being objectified, being put on display,' he said. 'Whenever the word was used, it was used as an insult. It took on this dehumanizing value, which is why the majority of people say, I want to be known as little people, or a person with dwarfism.' Arnold, who once protested a 'Half Pint Brawler' show in Chicago, added: 'I have no problem with what they do. It's cool that they've been able to create their own business, and if it's what they like to do, I'm happy they have the chance to do it. That said, I wish that Puppet wasn't such a proponent of the word midget. It just carries so much baggage.' None of this dismayed Spike TV. To the contrary. 'It was kind of like seeing water in the desert,' Sharon Levy, Spike's executive vice president for programming, said of seeing the 'Half Pint' pitch tape. 'We had been looking for four years for a docu-soap about larger-than-life characters that would connect with our audience.' Spike billed it as 'Little People, Big World' meets 'Jackass,' but Levy said the channel was not trying to court controversy. 'The show is about their rock star lifestyles,' she said. 'It's about their characters. It's not about their height.' But the network also staged a debate with Arnold's group. And Richardson said that Spike had asked his announcer, Spyder, the sole tall member of the group, not to use the word midget. (Levy denied any knowledge of this edict.) 'Everybody needs to loosen up,' Puppet said. 'What's the difference? It's a WORD.' But he is not as insensitive to social mores as he seems. The Brawlers, which he founded in Chicago 15 years ago, were originally called the Bloody Midgets. As they got more attention -- they built their reputation via pay-per-view -- he changed the name. Still, he is not above pandering. 'Don't feel sorry for me, being little,' he says in the opening of the first Spike episode. 'If they're going to stare at me, I'm going to make money' off it. Over a lunch of bunless burger and light beer at Michael's, the media canteen in Midtown, Puppet, in a sleeveless shirt with skull and crossbones above the breast and a Half Pint Brawlers do-rag, explained how he came to his unusual perspective. He trained as an actor, occasionally doing Shakespeare and then stunt work before turning to wrestling. (The thespian history is represented by a tattoo of the comedy and drama masks: The cheery comedy mask is labeled Steve, and drama, aka Puppet, has glowing, evil red eyes.) 'I think a lot of times people might come in thinking they're going to laugh at us,' he said, but they leave 'very impressed' by the moves. At 41, he is 'still pumping hard,' he said with a wink. Also: '4 foot 4 and still hard core.' How many lines like this does he have? 'Thousands.' He does stand-up to warm up the crowds. He was a hit at Michael's, where he briefly put the manager in a headlock and charmed some ladies who lunch. 'Amazing,' they cooed, after he climbed atop the bar and posed for a photo with them. Self-exploitation is no more demeaning in Puppet's world than 'midget.' His verdict on the TLC hit 'Little People, Big World,' about a Portland, Ore., family fitting in? 'Boring.' 'We're just different,' he said. 'We're not trying to belong. I want to be out there. I want to be the Ozzy Osbourne. I want to be the character. I don't want to fit into this little niche. Why? I'm FUN.' 