It's Called The Midwest Because Every Single Thing In It Is Mid

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About

It's Called The Midwest Because Every Single Thing In It Is Mid refers to a viral video and speech by AEW wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) made during a wrestling match in Cincinnati, Ohio about how everything in the Midwest United States is mid, meaning of mediocre quality. The speech went viral in lip-dubs on TikTok where users show off things they think are mid between September and November 2021 and inspired numerous viral edits.

Origin

On September 9th, 2021, the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) YouTube^[1] channel posted a clip from a September 8th fight in Cincinnati, Ohio where wrestler MJF (signed to AEW) goes on an aggressive rant against the Midwest U.S. He starts by calling the audience pot-bellied pigs and saying Cincinnati is the "biggest dumpster fire in the world." He then says, "It's called the Midwest because every single thing in it is "mid," resulting in boos from the crowd. MJF goes on to call Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati chili chain, mid, then calls the Cincinnati Reds mid for not winning a World Series since 1990. One commentator agrees. Finally, he says "every single person in here is mid." The video gained over 547,000 views in two months (shown below).

ITS CALLED THE MIDWEST BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE THING IN IT IS MID. SKYLINE CHILI? MID! YOUR CINCINNATI REDS WHO HASN'T WON A WORLD SERIES CHAMPION SINCE 1990? MUH MUH MUH MUH MID!

Spread

On September 23rd, 2021, TikToker^[2] @this.is.cdub posted an edit of the video adding Vine Boom sound effects and distorted audio when he says "mid," gaining over 530,000 views in two months (shown below).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7011343060093242630

The video's original sound became popularized on TikTok over the course of late October and early November in lip-dub skits where TikTokers show off TV shows or other things that they think are mid and don't understand the hype behind (examples shown below, left and right).

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7023504285333769478

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7027503934499458309

On October 20th, 2021, TikToker @jflvideos edited the video to describe Kendrick Lamar's discography as mid, gaining over 542,000 views in a month (shown below). The original sound became popularized in the same type of lip-dub skits.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7021110546682498310

On November 1st, YouTuber Nova posted an edit of the scene speeding it up, adding the Vine Booms and also adding the "Oh My God" sound, gaining over 6,500 views in two weeks (shown below).