yaw

Two ways about it if you are open minded.

a) logic:
Your method of wiping your chains with a rag does nothing for what's going on inside the rollers, where all the wear happens. Drivetrain parts wear mainly due to chain elongation and that is caused by precisely that internal wear. Wax on wax is lower friction than metal grinding on metal with the helping of a gritty lubricant-contamination paste which you never flushed out with your method.

b) research:
Plenty of independent bench and real world testing to be found via Google to attest to the increase in drivetrain lifetime and the measured reduction in friction using hot wax, including the maintenance of that low friction for longer, with and without added contamination.