Because :wq to me means “Issue command write, followed by command quit.” “Issue command x” to me means nothing in the context of vim, and ctrl + x on most systems is reserved for cutting, so it just “feels” wrong.

:x was a gamechanger. And it doesn’t update the file’s modify date if you made no changes.

Sometimes I just sit back and think about all that saved time and effort so much that I have actually lost time by switching from :wq.